HISTORIC NUMBER OF CITIZENS COMMENT
ON BONNER BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT IN DARE COUNTY
Overwhelming majority of responses support replacing bridge now
RALEIGH — An historic number of citizens – more than 3,800 people – sent comments regarding the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge replacement project to the N.C. Department of Transportation during the public comment period that ended Aug. 9. About 95 percent of those comments favor replacing the 48-year-old bridge immediately.
“I’ve worked at NCDOT for 15 years, and I’ve never seen a project generate this many comments from the public,” said Drew Joyner, head of the department’s Human Environment Unit, which is responsible for informing citizens about upcoming projects and soliciting their feedback on project plans. “Citizens from along the Outer Banks and across the country said they want the Bonner Bridge replaced now, and we heard them loud and clear.”
The vast majority of comments also support using information generated by a coastal monitoring program to determine what to build in future phases of the project on N.C. 12 between Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe, and when that work would occur. Replacing the Bonner Bridge as soon as possible and activating the coastal monitoring program are both components of the department’s recommended plan for this project.
NCDOT is currently reviewing all the comments it received from citizens, as well as state and federal agencies. Once that process is complete and no additional environmental documents are required, the next step would be for the Federal Highway Administration to issue a Record of Decision.
The public comment period started June 6 and ended Aug. 9. It coincided with three well-attended public hearings and open houses in Manteo, Rodanthe and Buxton on July 6-8, respectively. NCDOT held the meetings to discuss design changes made to the project’s plans, which were presented in a document called an Environmental Assessment.
***NCDOT***
ON BONNER BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT IN DARE COUNTY
Overwhelming majority of responses support replacing bridge now
RALEIGH — An historic number of citizens – more than 3,800 people – sent comments regarding the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge replacement project to the N.C. Department of Transportation during the public comment period that ended Aug. 9. About 95 percent of those comments favor replacing the 48-year-old bridge immediately.
“I’ve worked at NCDOT for 15 years, and I’ve never seen a project generate this many comments from the public,” said Drew Joyner, head of the department’s Human Environment Unit, which is responsible for informing citizens about upcoming projects and soliciting their feedback on project plans. “Citizens from along the Outer Banks and across the country said they want the Bonner Bridge replaced now, and we heard them loud and clear.”
The vast majority of comments also support using information generated by a coastal monitoring program to determine what to build in future phases of the project on N.C. 12 between Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe, and when that work would occur. Replacing the Bonner Bridge as soon as possible and activating the coastal monitoring program are both components of the department’s recommended plan for this project.
NCDOT is currently reviewing all the comments it received from citizens, as well as state and federal agencies. Once that process is complete and no additional environmental documents are required, the next step would be for the Federal Highway Administration to issue a Record of Decision.
The public comment period started June 6 and ended Aug. 9. It coincided with three well-attended public hearings and open houses in Manteo, Rodanthe and Buxton on July 6-8, respectively. NCDOT held the meetings to discuss design changes made to the project’s plans, which were presented in a document called an Environmental Assessment.
***NCDOT***
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