My mother always feared the Bonner Bridge!  And for good reason.  It was routinely ranked as one of the worst bridges in America.  Like spoiled milk, the Bonner had long passed it’s stated expiration date.  By the early 2000’s, the bridge–built in 1963–had long outlived it’s 30-year lifespan.  My mom would always roll the windows down in the car when we were crossing the bridge.  Just in case.

As a child, The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge was the gateway–a physical landmark–that represented my favorite “away.”  From the traffic, retail development, and hustle and bustle of everything before to a small ribbon of sand surrounded by so much water and sunshine and wind and something I would come to understand as “island time.”  The old bridge elevated the visitor, momentarily, high above the flat landscape as if to approach the barrier islands like a bird, to appreciate from above the thin and precarious nature of this place extending out into the Atlantic Ocean.  I’ll always remember the Bonner Bridge.

The new Marc Basnight Bridge was opened to traffic February 25, 2019.  $254 million dollars of material and labor, this 2.8-mile bridge grants vehicles another projected 100-years of lifespan over the Oregon Inlet below.  It carries traffic along NC-12, The Outer Beaches Scenic Byway, from Bodie Island and Nags Head to the north over Oregon Inlet and onto Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Hatteras Islands to the south.

This frame shows both bridges, the newer and much larger Marc Basnight Bridge in the background and the remnant Bonner Bridge lower in the foreground, open now to pedestrians for fishing and sightseeing Oregon Inlet.

Camera:  Nikon D850
Lens:  Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 @86mm
Tripod:  Really Right Stuff TVC-33

Date taken:  Janaury 15, 2024
Settings:  f11, 30 seconds, iso 64