HERTFORD, N.C. — The Albemarle Rural Planning Organization chose to stay the course on the current plan for the Mid-Currituck Bridge on Wednesday, coming after a February meeting where North Carolina Department of Transportation officials dropped some sobering news. The bridge — now estimated at $1.2 billion — is not financially feasible without a major funding boost.
This also follows recent weeks where resolutions were passed supporting staying the current course on the Mid-Currituck Bridge by Dare and Currituck counties, along with the towns of Duck, Kitty Hawk and Southern Shores.
"I'm afraid we're all going to be gone when that bridge is finally built," said David Baldwin, a Currituck County resident who attended the meeting hoping to get some closure on the project's future on Wednesday.
During a March special meeting, NCDOT officials outlined the gap the bridge faces. Currently, the $173 million and the expected tolling fees to cross the bridge bring total funding to around $400 million, leaving an $800 million gap. NCDOT told ARPO it had to decide on two options by April 17.
"Option one is just keep it in the division bucket of the STIP (State Transportation Improvement Program) where it is now, and have that $173 million from the division funds committed to the project. There was another option of pulling it out of the division one bucket, having it re-scored to be eligible for statewide, regional or division funds," said Ronnie Sawyer, NCDOT Division One engineer.
Option two would have freed up the $173 million to go back into projects in the 14 counties in the division but also meant that the bridge would go back to square one on the funding front entirely.
Local leaders decided to stay the course for now in a 6-1 vote, keeping that $173 million in funding while spending the next year hunting for ways to close the $800 million gap. They're also asking NCDOT officials to simulate how this project ranks for the current P8 STIP funding cycle that it's in, which runs from 2026 to 2035. The P9 STIP runs from 2028-2037.
"We had quite a few years that have gone into this project - funding, resources, effort - and it would really be a shame to just let that go without making sure that we've exhausted all of our options for potentially closing this funding gap," said Troy Breathwaite, the Currituck County representative on the ARPO Rural Transportation Advisory Committee.
Why this decision now? Leaders say they just learned about this massive funding shortfall six weeks ago, and they want time to reach out to state and federal representatives for help while aggressively trying to find any way to close the gap.
"We've only just recently discovered this shortfall, just in the last six weeks. We haven't really had a chance to talk to our representatives and get them involved, make sure they are aware that we're in this position, and if there are any other options that we can pursue in terms of closing that gap," said Breathwaite.
The bottom line is that we'll know more in a year, when ARPO leaders will most likely have the same exact options on the table. But for neighbors like Baldwin, who lives right where the bridge would connect, the waiting game continues.
"Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of it. I am where they get off and on, and the toll booth is going to be in my backyard. I just want closure," said Baldwin.
