By VAIL STEWART RUMLEY
Staff Writer
The N.C. Department of Transportation announced that Aurora will soon have a new bridge over Durham Creek.
The bridge on Tunstall Swamp Road, built in 1966, is among many bridges in eastern North Carolina that have been replaced in recent years or will be replaced, said Preston Hunter, N.C. DOT Division 2 maintenance engineer.
“For the last three or four years, the DOT has aggressively been trying to replace our older bridges that have had issues,” Hunter said, adding that structural deficiencies are usually the underlying factor in the choice to replace a bridge.
DOT’s Division 2, based in Greenville, covers Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Green, Jones, Lenoir, Pamlico and Pitt counties.
Work on the project is slated to start as early as Oct. 1, with final completion set for May 15, 2013. Planting, reforestation and vegetation establishment will continue after the set end date.
Several side roads surround the bridge just outside of Aurora, so indications are that a short detour around the work area would do little to slow road traffic down.
According to a DOT press release, the $892,998 contract was awarded to T.A. Loving Co. of Goldsboro. T.A. Loving’s recent projects include the East Carolina Heart Institute in Greenville and the Wendell Murphy Football Facility at North Carolina State University.
The Durham Creek bridge contract is one of 18 bridge and highway projects awarded by state DOT Secretary Gene Conti in August.
“Since Gov. Bev Perdue took office in January of 2009, NCDOT has awarded 697 highway contracts totaling $4.9 billion to ensure that all North Carolinians have access to jobs and educational opportunities,” the press release said. “Gov. Perdue continues to support immediate jobs in the construction sector and the goal of ensuring that our transportation network facilitates access to jobs, education and healthcare for the future.”