DARE COUNTY N.C. — The first pile of the brand-new Alligator River Bridge project was driven into the river in February 2025. Now, the project sits at around 52% completion, and its progression has come at an impressive rate. News 3 saw crews in action Friday as we received our first update since January.
In fall 2028, the brand-new 3.2-mile, two-lane Alligator River Bridge, standing 65 feet high at its peak, is expected to open. The structure will be a major asset to the traveling public through wider lanes and shoulders, along with traffic no longer being impacted by boats coming through.
Skanska Project Director Phillip Lefave doesn't want to jinx it but says right now everything is going to plan.
"There's three miles of bridge to build out there, and hopefully we can keep the momentum going the way it's been going," said Lefave.
Back in January, crews were still focused on pile-driving operations. That's long in the past now. All 710 pile foundations have been driven in, and most of this year's focus has been on the substructures.
"If you were to make your way across the job, you can see a lot of the operations in terms of below the roadway deck making their way up out of the river. So that will continue to be the focus for the next few months, and then it will transition into the bridge decks and the roadway surface from there," said Lefave.
There are many pieces that have helped the crews stay on schedule. Lefave says that's through strong partnerships, minimal weather delays and the people out there working every day.
"Being able to find qualified, dedicated, skilled bridge building people in a part of the state like this has been good for us and for the state," said Lefave.
There's also technology that is playing a role here. One is the material in the foundations that limits corrosion.
"In all the substructure, there is carbon fiber strand in the piles and GFRP rebar or reinforcement, that is glass fiber reinforced polymer. It avoids the corrosion, so that technology will add life to the bridge and hopefully prevent or reduce maintenance," said Lefave.
Another piece of technology is one that News 3 Outer Banks reporter Will Thomas was able to see in action Friday. It's called Tybot and automatically ties rebar to the framework that the road will go over.
"It reduces the repetitive motions that lead to muscle strains and injuries to employees. So that machine ties somewhere in the range of 5000 to 9000 ties a shift. That's a lot of bending and movement for employees, so they can stay and do the framework and keep working out ahead," said Lefave.
We're still two years away from the project's expected completion, but it's a project crews are taking pride in bringing here.
"There's some great local bridge builders that are on this job that are proud to bring this to the people that they live next to every day, and then what we can contribute to the communities on either side," said Lefave.
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