Underwater Surveys and Pile Tests on Completed on Bonner Bridge

Our crews completed several tests and surveys of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge on N.C. 12 over the Oregon Inlet in Dare County today. These tests will provide crucial information to help evaluate the overall effectiveness of the sand placed in the area where erosion occurred and determine the next steps for repairs. 

Results of the information gathered today should be available Thursday. Photos of the various activities conducted at the bridge can be found on NCDOT’s Flickr site.

As part of today’s testing, crews with NCDOT’s Location and Surveys Unit conducted an underwater sonar survey of the area around Bent 166. Dive crews also inspected the area to assess if the sand is compacting as it needs to in order to properly support the bridge.

The department also began testing how much weight the bridge piles can carry. Carolina Bridge Company Inc. will drive two test piles into the inlet floor near the general vicinity of Bent 166. As of 4:30 p.m., they had completed one test drive.

NCDOT’s geotechnical staff will use the data gathered today, as well as additional surveys, to fully assess this situation and future repairs. Once a full assessment of the bridge’s safety is complete, NCDOT will determine the next steps. According to NCDOT Division 1 Engineer Jerry Jennings, the timeframe for reopening the bridge could be about a week from now or up to 90 days, depending on the findings of the assessment and timeline for repairs.

Approximately 30,000 cubic yards of sand were pumped during the weekend from the main navigation channel of the Oregon Inlet to the location at Bent 166 underneath the Bonner Bridge where scour, or the erosion of sand from bridge pilings, caused NCDOT to close the bridge on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Emergency Repairs

NCDOT awarded a $1.6 million contract to Carolina Bridge Company Inc. of Orangeburg, S.C. last week for emergency repairs on the Bonner Bridge.

Crews will use sandbags and four-foot tall A-Jacks to provide support to the bridge pilings and prevent further scour from occurring. A-Jacks interlocked together will be placed around the perimeter of the support structure at Bent 166. Crews will then place sandbags inside the line of A-Jacks. An additional two layers of A-Jacks and sandbags will then be placed on top of the base layer for a total of 10-12 feet of additional protection. This will allow sand to collect over the sandbags and A-Jacks, providing additional support to the structure.

Contractor crews have begun mobilizing equipment and materials to the bridge site. NCDOT and the contractor are working together to develop a timeframe for the repairs to be complete.

Emergency Ferry Route

NCDOT’s Ferry Division activated its emergency route between Stumpy Point and Rodanthe with limited service the night of the bridge closure. The route went into full operation Wednesday, Dec. 4, with steady traffic and short-to-moderate wait times reported at both terminals. Dare County Emergency Managementhas issued a priority loading list for the route. The emergency ferry route will continue seven days a week as long as service is needed. Ferry information is available on the Ferry Division website, by calling 800-293-3779, or via Facebook and Twitter at @NCDOT_Ferry.

For More Information

NCDOT will continue to update the public on this situation online and via its N.C. 12 Facebook page and N.C. 12 Twitter account.

Permanent Replacement

While NCDOT is working hard to reopen the Bonner Bridge to traffic as quickly as possible, the emergency repairs are not considered a permanent fix for the aging bridge. After 50 years of weathering many storms, the bridge needs to be replaced. In July 2011, NCDOT awarded a $215.8 million contract for the design and construction of a new bridge. Design work began immediately and construction of the new bridge was set to begin in early 2013; however, lawsuits have put the project on hold.

Read more about the history of the Bonner Bridge and the challenges to replacing this lifeline.

Quick Update - Sandbags and Ferries

Sandbag installation is now complete along the part of N.C. 12 just north of Mirlo Beach that was damaged during Hurricane Sandy and a pair of Nor'easters last year. The final 41 sandbags were put into place on Monday, Jan. 21, connecting the section of sandbags from the north end to the section at the south end. The total number of sandbags placed along this section of N.C. 12 is 2,048.

Crews resumed hauling sand in this morning to cover the sandbags and rebuild the dunes. Weather permitting, this should be complete Wednesday afternoon.

While the work is under way, the highway remains open to traffic.
 

FERRY INFORMATION

Operations at the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry route have been suspended until further notice. The shoaling situation at Hatteras Inlet has made the route impassable.

The Ferry Division added more departures to its Swan Quarter-Ocracoke route, beginning Saturday, Jan. 19, to assist Ocracoke residents and vendors. This schedule, with toll-exempt status for residents and vendors, will continue until the Hatteras ferry channel resumes operations. The schedule is as follows:

• Departing Swan Quarter at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 and 10; and
• Departing Ocracoke at 7 a.m., 10, 12:30 p.m. and 7.

The Ferry Division continues to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard to assess the situation daily. The USACE has issued a dredging contract to address the channel shoaling, and work is under way, but several weeks could pass before dredging alleviates the problem.

A Drudge of a Dredge

As of right now, no work is going on N.C. 12 at Mirlo Beach because of a mechanical issue with the dredge pump.  The pump is not generating enough pressure to keep its lines from clogging with sand.  A part needed to fix the issue has been ordered and will be shipped overnight.  The repair is expected to be made tomorrow.

The dredge is the large red piece of heavy equipment in background

The gap between the sandbags placed at the north and sound ends of the highway is now approximately 100 feet wide.  Our engineers calculate that it will take 200 sandbags to fill in the gap. However, crews can’t resume the sandbag installation until the malfunctioning dredge is fixed.  The dredge is used to remove water and sand from the work site and sand collected by the dredged is then used to fill the sandbags.

Tomorrow, the plan is to begin hauling sand from Avon to fill in the trench between the sandbags and edge of the road. This will take approximately two days. Once the trench is filled, it will protect the edge of the road any overwash  gets through the sandbags. The trenches need to be filled before crews can begin covering the sandbags with sand to rebuild the dunes.

Weather on Friday will be windy with an “ugly”ocean.   Winds reaching 20-30 miles per hour could batter the Outer Banks starting Thursday night  and continuing into Friday. High surf driving by swells of 8-11 feet could become an issue, depending on winds and high tides.  

Sandbag Progress

N.C. 12 Sandbag and Dune Rebuilding Update
As of Sunday, Jan. 6, crews had approximately 620 sandbags left to install in the effort to rebuild the dunes near Mirlo Beach in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  Weather permitting, this work could be complete as early as Jan. 18.  Once all the sandbags are in place, they will be covered with approximately 6-8 feet of sand. The sand used for filling sandbags and dune reconstruction is trucked in from a sand pit in Avon.

Ferry Adds Night Departures
The NCDOT Ferry Division is adding two night departures at its Swan Quarter-Ocracoke route, beginning Wednesday, Jan. 9, to assist travelers while the Hatteras ferry channel is dredged. These runs are in addition to the current winter schedule of two departures daily from each side. The extra night departures will continue until the Hatteras-Ocracoke schedule returns to normal.

For the past several weeks, ferry operations have been suspended daily during low water at the Hatteras-Ocracoke route. Shoaling in the channel has been an ongoing issue, but Hurricane Sandy, two back-to-back Nor’easters and several winter wind storms have contributed to the problem. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working to resolve the situation, as the channel falls under federal jurisdiction. The USACE has issued a dredging contract to address the channel shoaling, and work is under way, but several weeks could pass before dredging alleviates the problem

Shoaling, Dredging, and Ferries: A Q&A

We’ve gotten several questions and comments about the shoaling situation at the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry route.

To help address them in a clear and concise way, we’ve created the Q&A below.

Q: Does the Swan Quarter ferry have the capability of running at night?

A: The Swan Quarter-Ocracoke route can operate at night.

Q: Why hasn't the Ferry Division added additional runs from Swan Quarter to give Ocracoke residents (and tourists) a reliable access route to the northwest?

A: We’re adding night runs, beginning Wednesday, Jan. 9, with a 7 p.m. departure from Ocracoke and a 10 p.m. departure from Swan Quarter.

Q: Why has the ferry division not allowed Ocracoke residents free passage to Cedar Island and Swan Quarter at times when the Hatteras ferry is not operating?

A: The current toll exempt policy allows Ocracoke residents with appropriate supporting documentation to travel toll free to doctors’ visits via both Pamlico Sound routes. This addresses elderly, pregnant and diabetic residents, as well as those with court appointments and Hyde County government workers.

 Q: Is it true that the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry route will be totally shut down for a while due to dredging?

A:  Once the contracted dredge gets to the “hot spots,” especially at channel marker #10, there may not be sufficient room or water depth for the ferries to get around the dredge. If we must suspend operations for a lengthy period of time while dredging is under way, we will notify the public in advance. The Ferry Division will continue to provide service, when the water fluctuation allows. If the channel is completely shut down, we have the ability to add additional departures at Swan Quarter to accommodate the citizens of Ocracoke.

Q: Why did the dredging not begin with the trouble spots in the ferry channel?

A:  The Ferry Division has been working closely with the US Army Corps of Engineers on the dredging issue. However, the Corps has contracted the work to a private company, and we do not have the authority to tell the Corps or the contractor how to perform the work.

Q: Please let us know when suspensions at Hatteras occur, in order to plan travel?

A:  Currently the pattern at Hatteras seems as follows: early runs in the morning are made, then operations suspend from about 7:30-8:00 a.m. until noon-1 p.m.. Then, operations resume again and then suspend around 6 p.m. until the late night departures of 11 p.m. and midnight.

The Ferry Division posts updates on suspensions and resumptions on the NCDOT NC 12 Facebook page and Twitter. The Tweets also go directly to the ferry website, www.ncferry.org. We have positioned a digital sign at Whalebone Junction, alerting drivers to possible suspensions and made 511, NCDOT’s toll-free travel information line, aware of the situation, as well.

If you have further concerns, comments or questions, please send them directly to the Ferry Division via the website Contact Us forum or call the Morehead City office directly at (252) 726-6446.

A Lifeline

The Outer Banks Voice did a nice profile of the emergency ferry service.  Thanks to the good folks there, for this and for all they do for their community!

By the Numbers: Progress!

Over the weekend, N.C. Department of Transportation crews continued working on the temporary solution to reconnect all traffic on Hatteras Island to points north of Mirlo Beach.

Between Friday, Dec. 7 and Sunday Dec. 9, crews filled and placed approximately 160 sandbags along a 0.4-mile section of N.C. 12 at the S-Curves just north of Rodanthe on Pea Island. As of Sunday evening, crews have placed 456 of the 1,800 sandbags needed to create a protective barrier between the ocean and the road. Once all of the sandbags are in place, crews will rebuild the dunes on top of the sandbags.

Crews brought in 495 truckloads of sand from the sand pit in Avon to fill sandbags, build up the dunes and assist with rebuilding the roadway.

In addition, crews installed survey stakes in the road bed in preparation for grading, prior to repaving. All sections of damaged pavement were removed over the weekend. After sandbags are installed at the most heavily damaged parts of the highway, crews will begin rebuilding the road where it was located before the series of storms hit. All work is heavily dependent on the weather and tidal conditions.

Crews hope to open the newly paved lanes of N.C. 12 to all traffic on or by Dec. 25. Until then, four-wheel drive vehicles must continue to pass through checkpoints at the temporary bridge on Pea Island and at Mirlo Beach to travel between Hatteras Island and the mainland. 

We know it's interesting, but...

....we don;t want anyone to get hurt in the NC 12 work zones.  Not in your cars.  And not on foot.  We've had some folks venturing out to take pictures of the work, to get a higher view, etc. But as interesting as it it, with all the heavy equipment out there, and the debris and deep sand  it's just not safe.  We know you understand.  Thanks!

Drips and drabs, odds and ends

A few things to note from today...

4WD Access Route Work Completed

Damaged pavement removed from an area near the S-Curves on NC 12

About an hour or so ahead of schedule, the four-wheel drive access route re-opened in the 3:00 o'clock hour after being closed earlier this morning for maintenance, including work to

level the sand in the areas where tires created deep ruts.  Today's work will result in a safer, more stable ride.

Installation of the culverts on Nov. 29

Crews also removed damaged pavement and graded the road where the four-wheel drive route connects to N.C. 12 -  Mirlo Beach and about 0.4 miles north of the S-Curves. This is part of the work necessary to rebuild and reopen N.C. 12 to all traffic on or by Dec. 25, weather permitting.

Weather...Again

Members of the sandbag crew at work

It was a blustery day out on NC 12 and the wind kicked up from the Northeast.  We're keeping tabs on what the conditions may do in the next 24-48 hours or so.  This nifty interactive map from the folks at the National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City shows you the conditions - including wind speeds and gusts and wave height.  Our crews have been installing 15-foot-long sandbags along a 0.4-mile section of N.C. 12 at the S-Curves just north of Rodanthe on Pea Island. This in order to protect the road from ocean overwash.  Drainage culverts have also been installed to help lessen the damage caused by conditions that generate overwash.

The sandbag work was done under the watchful eyes of our very special "offshore inspectors"

Out of the mouths (and artistic eyes) of babes

Priceless.

We love you too, Jack!

One of several thank you letters

posted inside the temporary ferry terminal on the Rodanthe side of the emergency ferry route.  From Hatteras Elementary School