Much to the “surprise, amazement, shock, and dismay of everyone” who attended a recent Albemarle regional meeting, the N.C. Dept. of Transportation (NCDOT) announced that “a financial analysis for the Mid-Currituck Bridge shows that the current [construction] plans are not feasible,” according to Southern Shores Town Councilwoman Paula Sherlock, who reported on the development at the Council’s Wednesday meeting.
Two NCDOT representatives told attendees of a meeting of the Albemarle Rural Planning Organization (ARPO), Ms. Sherlock said, that the State proposes to “pull back the $173 million [it] has committed to the project and put us back in the position of re-competing for funding.”
“This is really a blow,” Ms. Sherlock continued, describing the move as “not totally a shut door,” but definitely an end to planned construction. The bridge “is not going anywhere,” she said.
The Councilwoman, who started her second four-year term on the Council last December, reported on the NCDOT’s announcement during the Town Council member comment period at the end of Wednesday’s meeting.
The Beacon got preliminary word of this dramatic turnabout and checked the NCDOT’s website for progress on the Mid-Currituck Bridge in late February. The estimated cost of the project was cited then as $1 billion. The website now states “TBA” as the estimated cost. (See https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/mid-currituck-bridge/Pages/default.aspx.)
The ARPO is a cooperative effort between the Albemarle Commission, which serves 10 counties in Northeastern North Carolina, including Dare and Currituck, and the NCDOT. Its purpose is to establish priorities and enhance transportation planning opportunities for rural areas. (See https://albemarlecommission.org.)
Ms. Sherlock attended the recent ARPO meeting with Town Deputy Manager/Planning Director Wes Haskett and plans to attend a financial brainstorming session set for next week.
The ARPO will convene at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 11, at the Albemarle Commission building, 523 S. Church St. in Hertford, N.C. to discuss the “ins and outs of funding” the Mid-Currituck Bridge, without the NCDOT money, according to Ms. Sherlock.
Commiserating about the long-term adverse consequences the NCDOT decision visits upon Southern Shores, Ms. Sherlock said: “It’s one thing to say bear with us for a couple of years and you will have a bridge. It’s something else to say there’s never going to be a Mid-Currituck Bridge, and you’re going to have to live with it . . . or not.”
We daresay that after decades of talk about the bridge, there are many Outer Banks residents who have long believed the latter to be true.
IN OTHER NEWS . . . Town Manager Cliff Ogburn reported that the East Dogwood Trail construction project is scheduled to be completed by May 8. Next week the construction will intensify and may result in temporary closures of the road, except for residents requiring access to their homes and emergency vehicles.
We emailed Mr. Ogburn yesterday about the trees that were removed last week and were informed that 12 trees of “varying sizes” were cut down. We have yet to receive a response from Mr. Ogburn about the reason for their removal, but we were reassured that the road will not be widened.
By Ann G. Sjoerdsma, The Southern Shores Beacon, 3/7/26
The Southern Shores Beacon 