On Thursday, the Grayden Paul bridge, connecting Morehead City to Beaufort, closed for five hours while DOT crews performed emergency repairs. Adjacent to the aging span, its replacement is still under construction. Jared Brumbaugh has an update on the bypass project.
The 65 foot, high-rise bridge is on track to open this fall, at least partially. Senior Assistant Resident Engineer for the State Department of Transportation Rhett Gerald says the span over Gallants Channel will open for a two lane, two way traffic pattern while crews finish construction.
“We’ll have traffic in that phase for probably about four or five months, and then we’ll have the complete project finished and that includes the Turner Street bridge and have traffic in a four lane pattern.”
Currently, DOT crews are working on the architectural rail for the Turner Street bridge and completing the tie-ins on the west and east portions of the project. The 66.4 million dollar Gallants Channel bridge replacement has experienced some minor setbacks since construction started in early 2014, pushing completion back a couple of months. The entire project, which includes the removal of the old bridge and final traffic patterns is slated for early 2019.
For more information, go to: https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/gallantschannelbridge/
