Herbert C. Bonner Bridge
Outer Banks
Oregon Inlet
1970

Linking Hatteras Island with the northern Outer Banks—and the rest of the world, the Bonner Bridge crosses Ocracoke Inlet.
Originally designed with a 40 year lifespan, the bridge is well passed it’s age limit. NCDOT has invested considerable time and effort in keeping the bridge safe and open.
A new span is under construction with a scheduled opening date in November of this year. The new bridge is much larger and higher with seven navigation spans instead of one. Design specifications call for the bridge to have a 100 year life expectancy.
Historic Notes: Herbert Bonner served as the US Representative for northeastern North Carolina from 1940 until his death from cancer in 1965.
Bridge Length: 2.4 miles
Completed: 1963 Connecting the Southern Outer Banks

Completed in 1963, the Bonner Bridge was the first constructed bridge that connected Hatteras Island with the rest of the Outer Banks. Prior to the bridge, access was only available via vehicle ferry from the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. The completion of the bridge brought well needed connections to the southern Outer Banks, as well as faster evacuation routes during severe weather.

The Bonner Bridge reached the end of its functional lifespan in the 2010s, and the North Carolina Department of Transportation began a bridge replacement project. In 2019, the new Marc Basnight Bridge opened, replacing the Bonner Bridge. As part of the replacement project, the remnant 1000ft of the bridge on the Hatteras side of Oregon Inlet was retained as a structure to help train the ocean current further into the center of the inlet to aid navigation and as a pedestrian and fishing structure.