Agencies agree on bridges for NC 12

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - State and federal officials agree that bridges are the best long-term solutions for breaches in N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island that were created by Hurricane Irene.

The state Transportation Department said in a news release Thursday that various agencies agreed a bridge should be built where N.C. 12 now stands at a breach at Pea Island. For a breach at Rodanthe, the agencies agreed that DOT should either build a bridge within the easement or build one that extends into the Pamlico Sound.

In both cases, the agencies rejected beach nourishment as a long-term solution.

DOT also will consider an option suggested by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that involves a bridge that starts north of the Pea Island breach and rises above the Pamlico Sound to Rodanthe.