Travelers heading down to the beach this summer may find themselves going a little out of the way at one point of U.S. Highway 264.
Monday, the North Carolina Department of Transportation closed a U.S. 264 bridge over Broad Creek, near Pantego. The bridge is slated to closed until Dec. 2, 2013.
According to a press release from the NCDOT, the bridge, which was built in 1925, has been deemed structurally insufficient and requires replacement though it is still considered safe. The deteriorating condition and outdated bridge design, however, have put the detour signs up and sent travelers on a nine-mile detour through Belhaven.
“It will take a lot of traffic out of Pantego,” said Pantego Mayor Glenda Jackson.
Jackson said the closure likely won’t disrupt the lives of area residents too much this summer, but that will change once school starts in the fall.
“When school starts it will be quite inconvenient,” Jackson said. “That’s right much interruption.”
For travellers heading East, the signed detour begins at the intersection of U.S. Highway 264 and Seed Tick Neck Road, continues through Belhaven on N.C. Highway 99 until it joins back with U.S. 264.
The $1.5 million bridge replacement—awarded to T.A. Loving Company out of Goldsboro—is part of the NCDOT’s $450 million state-funded bridge plan. The plan calls for preservation, repairs, or replacement of bridges statewide.