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The long-awaited environmental impact statement for the Currituck Mid-County Bridge is expected to be released in the next couple of weeks, representing a major milestone for the $660 million project. The Federal Highway Administration is currently reviewing the study, known as an EIS, and after then, it should be released to the N.C. Turnpike Authority, spokesman Beau Memory said. Turnpike engineer Jennifer Harris said the EIS will be posted on the agency’s Web site, and that will be followed by a series of hearings for public input. Harris said the bridge study is being prepared differently from a traditional EIS. “We discuss alternatives that we will evaluate to see how they meet the purpose of need, what kind of impact they would have on the environment and we investigate and quantify the costs for the alternatives,” she said. Alternatives would include several different bridge designs or no bridge at all, as well as ferry and transit systems. Harris said there are many technical reports in the EIS that are summarized and referenced so readers can get additional information. “(The reports) will be used in addition to maps at hearings to facilitate getting comments from the public and environmental agencies, which will all be considered” in deciding which bridge option to pursue, she said. The mid-county bridge will span 7 miles across Currituck Sound from the Currituck County mainland to Corolla on the Currituck Outer Banks. According to project engineers, the bridge will improve traffic flow between N.C. Highway 12 and U.S. Highway 158, reduce travel time for those traveling between the mainland to the Outer Banks and speed up evacuations before hurricanes make landfall. A bridge toll ranging from $6 to $30 per crossing has been proposed but nothing has been finalized. The range of tolls was compiled during a recent online survey of Currituck, Dare, Camden and Pasquotank county residents. |
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