Skanska USA will soon begin work to replace the Lindsay C. Warren Bridge over the Alligator River in North Carolina’s Tyrrell and Dare counties, the state DOT announced last week.
The American arm of the Sweden-based builder and developer won a $450 million contract to replace the 65-year-old swing-span bridge with a two-lane, fixed-span bridge just north of the current one.
Workers will begin driving pilings in the coming weeks, the Jan. 8 announcement said. Other activities, such as clearing, will begin soon after. The contract with Skanska says the bridge will open to traffic in the fall of 2029, and the demolition of the old bridge will begin in spring 2030.
The current bridge is the main access for vehicles to the Outer Banks barrier islands from the west via U.S. Route 64, as well as a critical hurricane evacuation route, per the release. The aging span is regularly maintained, North Carolina DOT said, but is prone to mechanical failures that can force motorists onto a 99-mile detour.
Tourism is the No. 1 industry of the Outer Banks with more than 5 million visitors each year, according to the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce.
The new bridge will attempt to alleviate those forced detours for motorists as well as improve river traffic for the more than 4,000 boats that travel through the swing span annually.
