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New Currituck Bridge
Posted By: King In Response To: Re: New Bonner Bridge? (King)
Date: Sunday, 2-24-08, at 4:19 p.m.
The Saturday traffic this past summer was backed up from the bridge to Hardees in Grandy...
Options for long-awaited Currituck span trimmed by trees
By JEFF HAMPTON, The Virginian-Pilot
November 30, 2007A large stand of bay trees in a swamp has eliminated proposed routes for the Currituck midcounty bridge south of Ayd-lett Road.
A route north of Aydlett Road remains the best option, said Jennifer Harris, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Turnpike Authority. Other options may emerge, but they would be north of Aydlett Road, she said.
The seven-mile-long bridge is one of the longest-running and most debated highway projects in state history, largely because of environmental concerns.
Supporters say the bridge is essential to relieve growing traffic congestion on the Outer Banks. At the same time, environmental agencies have resisted rapid progress.
At least one proposed bridge route passes through wetlands known as the Maple Swamp before connecting to U.S. 158. Some of the largest loblolly bay trees in the state grow there, said Sam Cooper, an environmental consultant with CZR Inc. in Wilmington.
Cooper did an environmental assessment of the swamp for the state earlier this year. Some trees were a large as 30 inches in diameter, he said.
"It's a unique forest type," Cooper said.
Dozens of state and federal agencies and elected officials have wrestled over the viability of the project since at least the 1970s. An early projected cost estimate was $39 million, then a projection in 1998 put it at $87 million. Escalating costs and environmental concerns have delayed the project.
The latest cost estimates on the bridge have increased to $445 million to $955 million depending on bridge design, according to the Turnpike Authority's Web site.
The project was assigned to the Turnpike Authority two years ago, allowing for private construction and for tolls to repay costs. The bridge is scheduled to open in 2013.
http://hamptonroads.com/category/north-carolina
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