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NCDOT to halt traffic at Bonner Bridge Tuesday morning for annual checkup

Posted at 12:33 PM, Jun 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-12 12:33:51-04

NAGS HEAD, N.C. – The North Carolina Department of Transportation will conduct an annual checkup of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge on Tuesday, June 13 at 9 a.m.

Road crews will stop traffic on both ends of the 2.7 mile bridge for no more than 30 minutes while staff conducts the routine mobile scan.

The bridge is set to reopen at 9:30 a.m.

“It is normal for a bridge to move, expand, and contract with weather. By performing this scan once a year, as well as after hurricanes and other severe weather, the department’s safety experts are able to monitor and evaluate any abnormal movement of the bridge,” NCDOT officials said.

During the scan, a truck with a GPS reader slowly travels along the bridge, turns around and travels back. The reader will pinpoint the exact location of each data point and compare it to last year’s data to determine if there is any abnormal movement of the bridge.

NCDOT also performs monthly underwater sonar scans to monitor the bridge’s support structure.

A project to replace the Bonner Bridge is nearly half-complete. The new bridge is scheduled to open to traffic in the fall of 2018.