With the cutting of a ribbon on April 2, the new bridge over Oregon Inlet is officially the Marc Basnight Bridge. Named for lifelong Manteo resident State Senator Marc Basnight, it is better in every way imaginable than the Bonner Bridge.

The bridge is a massive structure, dwarfing the old span. Using materials and engineering concepts that were not even available in 1963 when the Bonner Bridge was built, this bridge has a design life of 100 years, 70 years longer than the planned life of the original span.

“It took 100 engineers who worked on this project to work on this design,” NCDOT Secretary Jim Trogdon said in his remarks at the ribbon cutting. “If you take all the piles that have been used and placed end to end it would stretch 16 miles. It is 3550’ long, with the highest level navigation span and the third longest segmental box girder in North America.”

His remarks highlighted the remarkable effort and innovation that went into building the bridge. Segmental box girder construction is a relatively new concept that creates a lighter yet stronger structure. The piles that would stretch 16 miles include many that were pounded 100’ and more into the sandy bottom beneath the waters of Oregon Inlet to address the scour from the powerful current.