DOT: Mid‑Currituck Bridge faces $700M–$832M funding gap; RPO must decide whether to reallocate $173M

David Wasserman, deputy director of the North Carolina Department of Transportation—s Division of Planning and Programming, told Currituck County regional officials that the Mid‑Currituck Bridge is not financially feasible under current assumptions and funding levels.

"The product unfortunately is not financially feasible without additional funding," Wasserman said during a DOT briefing, summarizing a comparative analysis that updated cost and revenue projections for the toll project.

Wasserman said the most recent comparative analysis shows year‑of‑expenditure costs of about $1.2 billion under a traditional toll delivery and roughly $1.1 billion under a public‑private partnership (P3). After accounting for projected toll revenue and the $173 million in Strategic Transportation Investments (STI) funds currently committed in the STIP, the analysis shows a remaining funding gap of roughly $832 million for a traditional delivery or about $700 million under a P3 scenario.

Wasserman briefed the Currituck Regional Planning Organization (RPO) on how the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and the STI prioritization process work and why coastal, seasonal traffic modeling matters for the bridge—s scoring. He said project scores are computed in the SPOT office and that projects are ranked nationally by category; Region A (Division 1 and 4) receives about 8% of regional impact funds, which limits available local dollars.

The DOT delegation, introduced by Division 1 engineer Ronnie Sawyer, included David Roy of the Turnpike Authority, who spoke to revenue modeling and toll assumptions. Roy said modeled tolls vary by season and day; peak weekend tolls used in the forecast are higher, while off‑peak tolls are lower, and NCDOT and the Turnpike Authority avoid modeling revenue at the absolute maximum toll rate because higher rates depress demand.

Officials also reviewed the project—s history: the bridge was evaluated in Prioritization 3.0 (2014) and was programmed in the 2016–2025 STIP with roadway construction originally scheduled for 2019 as a toll project with an assumed $173 million of STI dollars. DOT staff said roughly $60 million has been spent on preliminary engineering, environmental work and early design over many years to date.

On federal grants, DOT and Turnpike Authority staff said they have applied for multiple discretionary programs (INFRA, MEGA, large bridge) but have not yet won an award for Mid‑Currituck. Presenters said active or historical litigation and outstanding permit work have complicated the project—s competitiveness for discretionary grant funds, and noted that federal grants historically cover no more than about 50% of a project—s cost.

Wasserman laid out two options for the RPO to consider: keep the project in its current, "committed" status in the STIP (option one), which would allow DOT to continue pursuing permits and grants but keep $173 million earmarked for the bridge in the Division Needs bucket; or reclassify the project as "preliminary engineering only" (option two), which would release the $173 million back into Division 1—s allocation so it could be used to accelerate other projects or be reallocated through Prioritization 8.0 (P8). If the RPO chooses option two, the project would compete in P8 and could still score in statewide, regional or division categories, but it would lose its current committed status.

Wasserman said simulations suggest the bridge would be unlikely to win funding in the statewide mobility category (where it would compete against highly urbanized congestion projects) but could be competitive in Region A or the division category; even if it scored well, any award would be evaluated against the project—s current billion‑dollar cost basis. He also noted a practical calendar constraint: the RPO needed to indicate its preference by April 17 so the project—s status could be set ahead of P8 score releases in May.

Elected officials and attendees pressed DOT on several points: whether traffic counts reflect southern approaches as well as northern approaches, how seasonal tourism affects travel modeling, whether safety criteria account for hurricane evacuation, what to do with the $60 million already spent, and whether permitting deadlines might force re‑start of permit work. DOT staff said the Army Corps permit currently on file is slated to expire Dec. 31, 2030, but that extensions are commonly requested and granted in project practice.

County and regional leaders voiced frustration that rural divisions receive a small share of regional funds and argued that the current prioritization and funding allocations limit economic growth in northeastern North Carolina unless the funding mix changes. DOT staff acknowledged statewide cost escalation across many projects and said transportation funding has not kept pace with construction cost growth.

No formal vote or motion was taken during the briefing. The RPO will consider the two options at its upcoming meeting, and DOT officials said they would continue to pursue federal funding and work through legal and permitting matters under option one.

What happens next: the RPO must indicate whether it favors keeping the bridge in its current committed status or reclassifying it for P8 consideration by the stated April decision date; either path leaves a large funding shortfall to be addressed by federal grants, legislative appropriations, private partners, or a combination of measures.