Thursday, September 28, 2023
By Outer Banks Voice on September 5, 2023
The Washington Baum (Pirate’s Cove) Bridge over Roanoke Sound is undergoing a $21.3 million rehabilitation project.. (NCDOT)
NCDOT announced on Sept. 5 that due to a construction project on the Washington Baum Bridge, traffic on the span will be reduced to one lane each way from Sept. 18, 2023 until May 2024 in the first phase of the lengthy project.
Here is the information.
Traffic on the U.S. 64 Washington Baum (Pirate’s Cove) Bridge between Manteo and Nags Head will be reduced to one lane in each direction beginning Sept. 18 as part of a $21.3 million bridge rehabilitation project.
The project will improve rideability on the bridge and extend its lifespan. Work includes correcting bumps on the existing bridge deck, replacing bridge joints and bearing pads and repairing concrete in the structure.
On Sept. 18, traffic will be shifted to the outside lanes of the bridge while a concrete barrier is placed in the median. Once the barrier is in place, which will take several days, the two westbound lanes of the bridge will be closed, and all traffic diverted onto the two eastbound lanes.
In addition, the speed limit on the bridge and its western approach will be reduced from 55 mph to 45 mph. Additional traffic enforcement will be on site via the HAWKS (Helping All Work Zones Keep Safe) program. HAWKS is a joint initiative between NCDOT and North Carolina State Highway Patrol to use off-duty law enforcement officers to monitor and patrol work zones.
The bridge will return to four lanes from May–September 2024. Next fall, the eastbound lanes will be closed, and traffic placed on the westbound lanes while deck work continues.
The project is expected to be complete by the fall of 2025.
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Yep
Yep, of course will return to 4-lanes May-September- only inconvenience locals- not the tourists. yeah, I get the $$$ thing vs quality of life for all
Kristy
The bridge is only 29 years old. It’s has already had at least several multi million updates. One corrected hydroplaning coming down the west slope. This was only corrected after a number of accidents. All this makes me wonder about the integrity of the bridge from the beginning. It would be interesting to read about the Washington Baum bridge’s rehab/maintenance projects over the last 29 years.
Currituck Buckeye
I just hope they keep the humps. Reggae is better when the road causes the car to bounce along with the beat.
102
The god christened engineers screwed up with the design and stresses on the sections, got to love it, us tax payers will foot the bill. A degree doesn’t make you smart it just make people think you know what you are doing. There are roads, aqueducts, and bridges in Europe that the Romans built that are still standing and in use today. And a little thing for thought, a person that is on the payroll to do a specific job, i.e. Highway Patrol person can’t volunteer there time to do the job that they normally do. I is a violation of the is a violation of the”Fair Labor Standard Act” which is a Federal Law