August 4, 2007 - Work will start Monday on the highly anticipated second Oak Island bridge, Barnhill Construction Vice President Drew Johnson said. But don't expect to see big cranes and big truck traffic right away. Most of the initial work will focus on getting access to the Intracoastal Waterway from N.C. 211 and be off the busy highway, Johnson said.
Johnson and N.C. Department of Transportation officials held a pre-construction meeting Thursday to go over plans for the two-year project that will give the island a second entrance and exit.
Talk of building a second bridge to the island started decades ago, but the project faced multiple hurdles, including a lack of funding and problems with permitting. But now it's a reality, and the contractor hopes to start work on the bridge span within a month. That work is being subcontracted to Lee Construction Co. of the Carolinas, out of Charlotte. By Shelby Sebens