The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge on North Carolina's Outer Banks has reopened after the discovery of excess scour around underwater pilings forced a two-week closure. The closure isolated more than 4,000 full-time residents on Hatteras Island and added fuel to the long-simmering debate over replacing the half-century-old, 2.5-mile structure spanning Oregon Inlet.
Because of the highly volatile and dynamic nature of the inlet's currents between the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound, the North Carolina Dept. of Transportation has kept close watch on the 260-span prestressed-concrete girder bridge's underwater supports through a regular program of weekly and post-storm-event sonar scans, intermittent dives and deck movement monitoring.