Bonner Bridge will remain open during A-Jacks support project – The Outer Banks Voice

Bonner Bridge will remain open during A-Jacks support project

By Sam Walker on December 27, 2013

Crews assemble A-Jacks at Oregon Inlet Fishing Center (NCDOT).

Contractors continue to work on shoring up a set of pilings that closed the Bonner Bridge earlier this month, but the N.C. Department of Transportation said the bridge will stay open during the emergency repair work.

The bridge was closed to traffic for 12 days because sand around a set of pilings near the southern curve of the 50-year-old bridge had been scoured out by the powerful currents moving through the inlet connecting Pamlico Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.

“We continue to monitor conditions on the ocean floor and around the bridge pilings with sonar scans and inspections,” the status update noted. “Should those inspections reveal any problems, we won’t hesitate to take the appropriate action.”

The bridge reopened Dec. 15 after a dredge clearing out the Oregon Inlet navigation channel pumped sand to the area of Bent 166 and stabilized the pilings.

Crews from Carolina Bridge Co. of Orangeburg, S.C. have been dropping giant sandbags around the pilings since the week before Christmas, and will start placing concrete structures called A-Jacks alongside the troublesome pilings starting Jan. 2.

Sandbags are loaded at the fishing center. (NCDOT)

The NCDOT posted on the N.C. 12 Facebook page last week that there would be no full closure of the bridge over Oregon Inlet during the project, despite rumors to the contrary.

“The repairs may necessitate periodic lane closures to give needed access to construction vehicles associated with the work,” according to the status update. “If we do have to close lanes, the closures will temporary, kept to a minimum and come with plenty of advanced notice.”

The A-Jacks will interlock and be placed around the perimeter of the support structure at Bent 166. The sandbags will be inside the line of A-Jacks. This will stabilize the sand that has been pumped around the piles and allow additional sand to collect over the sandbags and A-Jacks, providing more support to the structure.

NCDOT awarded a $1.6 million contract to Carolina Bridge for the repairs.

Previously underway crutch bent repairs continued through the bridge closure and will continue with no lane closures expected. Concrete repairs will resume after the holiday period.