The News & Observer
RODANT, North Carolina (AP) – A bridge that will allow locals and tourists to avoid the constantly blurred route at North Carolina’s outside banks is due to open to traffic this month.
People will be able to walk, ride bicycles and run on the 2.4-mile (3.8-kilometer) Radant Bridge on Saturday ahead of its opening, according to The News & Observer reports.
The $ 154 million bridge will run on Highway 12 North Carolina through Pamlika Sound, bypassing the southern end of the Pee Island National Wildlife Refuge and part of the road that is often washed by the ocean during storms. Construction of the project – known as the “bridge with the handle of the pot” due to the fact that it sticks out over the water – began in 2018.
A group of property owners and residents filed a lawsuit in federal court try to stop the construction of the bridge, claiming that the impact on the environment has not been carefully weighed, and this will affect a popular place for windsurfing.
However, Defenders of the Wild and the National Wildlife Refuge Association have sided with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. While the bridge took up nearly 3 acres (1.2 hectares) of the shelter, about 19 acres (7.7 hectares) will be rebuilt where part of the existing highway will be removed.
Environmental groups were actually pushing for a longer bridge, but the transport department said it would be too expensive. Two bridges were built instead. The Mark Besneit Bridge over Oregon Bay opened in February 2019.
Saturday’s “Community Day” at Rodant Bridge will include races of 5 miles (8 kilometers) and 5 miles (3 miles). Part of the bridge will be open to pedestrians and cyclists from 13.00 to 17.00
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