During the course of the last year, the N.C. Department of Transportation has performed mobile scans every three months on the deck of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge over the Oregon Inlet on N.C. 12 in Dare County. The final scan in this series is scheduled to take place at 9 a.m. Monday, Sept. 15, weather permitting.

At 9 a.m., crews will halt traffic on both ends of the bridge for 30 minutes as the department performs the routine scan of the bridge deck. The bridge will reopen to traffic at 9:30 a.m. immediately following the scan.

This final scan will provide the department with the last piece of information it needs to have a historical database of location coordinates for the bridge deck. By having this information on hand, NCDOT will be able to evaluate the bridge following hurricanes and other severe weather events at any time of the year. Once this scan is complete, mobile scans will take place once a year and after severe weather events. 

Following the mobile scan on Monday, a single lane closure will be set up on the bridge through 4:30 p.m. to allow crews to verify the location data gathered that morning, specifically along the southern portion of the bridge. The lane closure will continue Tuesday, Sept. 16, through Thursday, Sept. 18, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Crews will read each data point along the southern portion of the bridge and compare that information to the data gathered during the mobile deck scan to check for accuracy. The single lane closure will only be set up on the bridge where crews are located and will move as work moves along the bridge deck. NCDOT traffic crews will direct traffic on the bridge through the lane closure. 

In addition to deck scans, NCDOT also performs monthly underwater sonar scans, which enable engineers to check for signs of scour, where sand has drifted away from the pilings. The monthly underwater sonar scan for September will take place on Monday morning.

Motorists are advised to use caution while traveling in the area and to prepare for delays. For real-time travel information at any time, call 511, visit the NCDOT traffic website or follow NCDOT on Twitter. Another option is NCDOT Mobile, a phone-friendly version of the NCDOT website. To access it, type “m.ncdot.gov” into the browser of your smartphone. Then, bookmark it to save for future reference. NCDOT Mobile is compatible with the iPhone, Android and some newer Blackberry phones.