Construction of a new $450M Alligator River Bridge in N.C. began in February 2025 to replace the aging Lindsay C. Warren Bridge. Despite federal grant suspension, NCDOT and Skanska press on with construction, aiming for a fall 2029 completion to improve safety and accessibility in the region.
NCDOT photo
Construction is under way in coastal North Carolina to replace the aging Lindsay C. Warren Bridge on U.S. Highway 64
Construction is under way in coastal North Carolina to replace the aging Lindsay C. Warren Bridge on U.S. Highway 64 over the Alligator River in Tyrrell and Dare counties, the state Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced Feb. 19, 2025.
The new bridge will replace the existing swing-span bridge with a modern two-lane, fixed-span, high-rise bridge on a new location just north of the current structure. The 3.2-mi.-long bridge also will include two 12-ft. travel lanes with 8-ft. breakdown lanes.
Crews from Skanska began by driving the first concrete pile in the $450 million project into the bed of the broad river west of Manteo, the gateway to North Carolina's Outer Banks.
The bridge pile is one of hundreds to be used as a foundation for the new structure, designed to replace the old swing-span drawbridge.
NCDOT officials expect the project to be completed in Fall 2029.
The current bridge, opened in 1960, is the main route to access the Outer Banks from the west, and a critical hurricane evacuation route. The swing span is maintained regularly, according to the agency, but is prone to occasional mechanical failures which force motorists to take a 99-mi.-long detour.
NCDOT's online project page noted that the new bridge also will improve river traffic, as more than 4,000 boats pass through the swing span each year.
The Lindsay C. Warren Bridge, also known as the Alligator River Bridge, has been rated "structurally deficient" by NCDOT inspectors.
"This does not imply that the 65-year-old bridge is unsafe, [but] it does mean the structure is reaching the end of its lifecycle and must be monitored, inspected and maintained on a more frequent basis," NCDOT's website said on its bridge construction project page. "The work to maintain the current bridge negatively impacts its ability to provide a reliable connection between [the communities of] Columbia, Manns Harbor, Manteo and the Outer Banks."
The environmental planning and preliminary design phase to replace the bridge began in early 2021 and finished in late 2022, the department said.
The existing bridge over the Alligator River is a vital link between the Outer Banks and the rest of North Carolina. However, approximately halfway across is a swing-span that brings traffic on U.S. 64 to a halt when it opens to let boats pass or occasionally breaks down and needs repairs.
Once finished, the new span will be wider and include shoulders and higher guardrails. It also will rise to 65 ft. above the channel, high enough to let boats pass underneath without stopping traffic on the road surface.
Demolition of the old Lindsay C. Warren Bridge is scheduled to start in Spring 2025 after the new bridge is completed, according to NCDOT.
Work Proceeds Despite Federal Government Suspending Support
The state agency and Skanska are moving ahead with construction of the new Alligator River Bridge even though the federal government has paused a federal grant that will help pay for it, the Raleigh News & Observer reported Feb. 21.
NCDOT was awarded $110 million for the Alligator River bridge from the bipartisan infrastructure bill approved by Congress in late 2021. It is one of two dozen grants the department received from the bill that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has put on hold as part of the new administration's efforts to re-evaluate federal spending.
State officials are counting on the federal grant to cover approximately a quarter of the project's total cost and are getting started despite the government's pause, said Tim Hass, a spokesperson of NCDOT.
"We are hopeful it is temporary, and the grant will move forward as awarded," he said in an email to the Raleigh newspaper.
The USDOT announced the grant in January 2023, one of a handful nationwide designed to help state and local governments pay for difficult but critical projects.
Though chosen by the Biden administration, the bridge project has bipartisan support. U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and former Gov. Roy Cooper announced the federal grant separately but almost simultaneously.
"I am proud to have advocated for this funding and thank local officials in both counties for their tireless advocacy for this grant as well," Tillis said in a statement at the time.
State Awaits Word On Two-Dozen Federal Grants
The News & Observer noted that NCDOT has not received any guidance about the suspended federal grants.
That includes the largest one awarded to the agency worth nearly $1.1 billion to build the first leg of a high-speed passenger rail line between Raleigh, N.C. and Richmond, Va.
Gov. Josh Stein and state Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins asked U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy about the status of that grant when Duffy visited western North Carolina to inspect last fall's hurricane damage on Feb. 10, 2025.
"That's one of the ones that's a primary for us," Hopkins said following their brief meeting with Duffy. "And we're going to make a specific ask to try to get that one rolling."
Among the other federal grants to NCDOT now on hold:
• $242 million to help replace the aging Cape Fear Memorial Bridge in Wilmington.
• $25 million to install wildlife crossings on U.S. 64 in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.
• $13.2 million to help the city of Wake Forest build a downtown train station as part of the Raleigh-to-Richmond rail project.
• $1.8 million to develop a plan to protect N.C. Highway 12 from ocean flooding in the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks.
Today's top stories
