Official: Worker killed, another hurt in collapse of old Outer Banks bridge

MANTEO, N.C. — One worker was killed and a second one injured Wednesday when a section of the old Bonner Bridge on the Outer Banks collapsed, authorities said.

Capt. Jeff Derringer of the Dare County Sheriff’s Office said workers were dismantling a section of the old Bonner Bridge around 5 p.m. when that section fell approximately 110 feet into Oregon Inlet. The accident was first reported by OBX Today.

Pictures taken from traffic cameras showed the road deck had been removed from the steel girders and stacked on top of them.

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The section of the bridge that fell was the last section to be demolished and was the tallest point of the old span, officials said. The portion of the bridge that remains is being prepared for conversion into a fishing pier that will open to the public this summer.

The Bonner Bridge was completed in 1963, but had been deteriorating for years. The new Marc Basnight Bridge was built parallel to it and opened in 2019.

The Associated Press contributed to the article.

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