Closure of the Juniper Trail/Trinitie Trail culvert bridge to all traffic–a move that was expected to occur in November–will take place next Monday, Dec. 9, according to a press release issued today by the Town of Southern Shores.
The bridge, well known for its roller-coaster ride despite repeated repairs, will be replaced with a cored slab bridge, the construction of which is expected to take 210 days, or about seven months, to complete, the Town said.
Earlier this year, Town Manager Cliff Ogburn said that construction of the replacement bridge would start in November and be finished by “summer 2025,” with the bridge being closed for up to six months. (See The Beacon, 3/8/24.) The closure period has since increased.
During the closure, no vehicles, pedestrians, or bicyclists may cross the bridge, and no boaters may pass under it.
The Southern Shores Town Council voted unanimously on Oct. 10 to accept a construction bid of $1,667,178.70 by Smith-Rowe LLC for what is now being called the Trinitie Trail Bridge Construction Project and to authorize the Town Manager to execute a contract on behalf of the Town with the Mt. Airy, N.C. construction company.
Smith-Rowe’s bid was the lowest bid received among four competing contractors. (See The Beacon, 10/10/24.)
The 32-year-old company claims on its website to have built more than 400 bridges in its service area, which includes Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia, as well as the heart of North Carolina.
The Town has been engaged with engineering/planning/design consultant Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., of Raleigh, on this project for about two years.
The bridge replacement is a public construction project and, as such, is subject to N.C. statutory requirements and supervision by the N.C. Dept. of Transportation.
REMEMBER: THE TOWN COUNCIL MEETS TOMORROW AT 5:30 p.m. IN THE PITTS CENTER. The Beacon previewed the meeting highlights on Saturday, 11/30/24.
For the meeting agenda and background materials, see https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/soshoresnc-pubu/MEET-Packet-299dadb35c4146129ab0f7870843770f.pdf.
By Ann G. Sjoerdsma, The Beacon
The Southern Shores Beacon 