Maybe, just maybe the Mid Currituck Bridge will be built.
On Friday the Federal Highway Administration approved the project's Record of Decision. With the federal government's approval in hand, the long-awaited bridge connecting the Currituck Banks with the mainland has just gotten a huge boost.
Record of Decision & What It Means
A Record of Decision outlines how the project is going to be built and is required before construction can be put out to bid.
That the Federal Government agrees with the assessment to NCDOT and the North Carolina Turnpike Commission that the bridge is necessary will go a long way to moving the process forward.
When completed, the bridge will subtract 40 miles from the ride to Corolla for vacationers and workers who use the Wright Memorial Bridge. More importantly, it should bring hurricane evacuation time from the Currituck Banks to less than 18 hours. Eighteen hours is the maximum time to evacuate an area that will meet state standards.
The total cost of the project is approximately $440 million. The state believes, however, that told will offset the cost of the bridge. Government grants and bonds, some of them to be paid through toll collections, will further reduce the state's outlay. Estimates are that NCDOT will be responsible for $173 million.
The bridge will be located at Aydlett on the mainland side and will connect with Corolla very close to the TimBuckII Shopping Plaza on the Outer Banks side.
NCDOT has not indicated a specific timetable at this point in time, but if other published schedules for construction of the bridge hold true, the Mid Currituck Bridge should open to traffic sometime in 2022. Provided all goes smoothly.
There is a six month comment period for a ROD.
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