Field Report

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DIVISION OF COASTAL MANAGEMENT
FIELD INVESTIGATION REPORT
APPLICANT'S NAME: North Carolina Department of Transportation
LOCATION OF PROJECT SITE: The project is located at Bridge No. 28 on NC 210 over Long
Creek, Pender County (T.I.P. No. B-5156).
Latitude: 34026'21" N Longitude: 78'01'33" W
INVESTIGATION TYPE: CAMA
INVESTIGATIVE PROCEDURE: Date of Site Visits —April 11, 2023
Was Applicant Present —No
PROCESSING PROCEDURE: Application Received Complete: April 18, 2023
Office — Morehead City
SITE DESCRIPTION:
(A) Local Land Use Plan — Pender County
Land Classification From LUP — Rural Agriculture
(B) AEC(s) Involved: PTA, CS
(C) Water Dependent: Yes
(D) Intended Use: Public
(E) Wastewater Treatment: Existing —N/A
Planned - N/A
(F) Type of Structures: Existing — Bridge for public use
Planned - Bridge for public use
(G) Estimated Annual Rate of Erosion: N/A
Source — N/A
HABITAT DESCRIPTION: [AREA]
EXCAVATED FILLED
OTHER
(A) Open Water
Permanent Shading 1,925 sf
Temporary Shading 1,590 sf
Add. Temp. Impacts 310 sf
(B) Section 404 Wetlands
1,655 sf
30,144 sf
Mech. Clearing 8,625 sf
Hand Clearing 14,985 sf
(C) High Ground
42,000 sf
Disturbed by project 120,989 sf
(D) Total Area Disturbed: 222,223 sq. ft.
(E) Primary Nursery Area: No Secondary Nursery Area: No
(F) Water Classification: C; Sw Open: No
8. PROJECT SUMMARY: The applicant proposes to replace the existing 170' long bridge over Long
Creek on NC 210 with a 205' long bridge adjacent to and north of the
existing bridge. The project also includes the relocation of adjacent
utilities lines and the demolition of the existing bridge.

FIELD INVESTIGATION REPORT:
N.C.D.O.T. — Pender Bridge 28 over Long Creek
PAGE #2
NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION:
Project Setting
Bridge No. 28 is located over Long Creek on NC 210, approximately 2 miles east of US 421 in
the western portion of Pender County. Typical elevations in the project area range from 0 to 10'
above the normal water level of Long Creek. The western portion of the project consists of an 80' to
90' wide x approximately 1,000' long causeway leading from natural high ground through riverine
swamp forest to the bridge. The land adjacent to causeway is dominated by sod grass, Chinese
privet, greenbrier, and red maple; with trees such as bald cypress, water oak, and sweetgum at the
lower elevations just beyond the causeway. The land on the eastern end of the bridge can be
characterized as riverine swamp forest adjacent to the creek which transitions to high ground
residential areas. A maintained utility easement parallels the south side of the roadway through the
project area. The Categorical Exclusion document prepared for the project indicates that there are no
archaeological resources or historic properties that meet the criteria for listing in the National
Register present or affected by this project.
Bridge No. 28 was built in 1921 and reconstructed in 1956. It is 170' in length with 31.5' of clear
roadway width, and an 11' wide travel lane in each direction. The bridge has 4 fixed spans of
approximately 42.5' each. The superstructure is comprised of reinforced concrete deck girders,
while the substructure is composed of concrete, wood, and steel piles with concrete caps. The
horizontal clearance through the bridge is limited to approximately 36' between bents at the
navigation channel due to the installation of helper bents, while the vertical clearance underneath the
bridge reaches a maximum of 10' above the normal water level of the creek. Stormwater from the
existing bridge deck drains directly into Long Creek as there are no stormwater controls on the
bridge. The bridge received 58.21 out of a possible 100 points during its last sufficiency rating and
the bridge is classified as structurally deficient.
Utilities in the project area consist of underground and overhead telecommunication lines
paralleling the north side of the bridge, as well as overhead power and telecommunication lines
paralleling the south side of the bridge. Additionally, a 24" public water supply line is located in the
existing right-of-way and parallels the south side of the roadway and bridge.
Long Creek is classified as C; Swamp waters by the Environmental Management Commission
(EMC) in the area of the proposed construction and Inland Waters by the N.C. Wildlife Resources
Commission (WRC). Long Creek is not classified as a Primary Nursery Area (PNA), however it is
classified as Anadromous Fish Spawning Area (AFSA) downstream of the existing bridge. The
waters are closed to shellfish harvesting by the Shellfish Sanitation Section of the Division of Marine
Fisheries. The creek is in the Cape Fear River Basin. Long Creek is approximately 60' wide in the
area of construction with a maximum water depth of -15'. A small private pier was observed
immediately upstream of the bridge in the northeast quadrant of the project. No submerged aquatic
vegetation was observed in the project area during the site visit.
Project Proposal
NCDOT proposes to replace the existing Bridge No. 28 over Long Creels. The project involves
the replacement of the existing bridge and related approaches with a pre -stressed concrete girder
bridge and new approaches on new location approximately 60' north of the existing location. The
applicant has designed the project to maintain traffic on the existing bridge during construction of
the new bridge.

FIELD INVESTIGATION REPORT:
N.C.D.O.T. — Pender Bridge No. 28 over Long Creek
PAGE #3
To facilitate construction of the new bridge, a 30' wide x 205' long temporary work bridge with
three 20' wide by 40' long fingers would be built along the north side of the proposed bridge
location. The work bridge would extend across the entire creek. The low chord of the temporary
work bridge would match the grade of the "low steel" on the existing bridge.
The new bridge as proposed would be 205' in length and 32' in width (clear roadway), which
would be 35' longer and 0.5' wider than the existing bridge. The new bridge is required to be longer
to accommodate the spatial difference between the existing bridge location and the new location.
The bridge would consist of four spans; two at 45' in length, one at 65' in length, and one at 50' in
length. The bridge would include three bents constructed with 24" diameter pipe piles. The new
longer bridge would allow for 63' of horizontal clearance between bents at the channel and match
the existing bridge's 10' of vertical clearance. The new bridge would include two 12' wide travel
lanes with 4' wide paved shoulders. The bridge would also include 42" tall concrete railings to
improve safety for motorists and pedestrians.
To allow for the relocation of the bridge, the applicant has requested to widen the approach
structures to the bridge. On the western approach, 800 linear feet of rock reinforced soil slopes
(RSS) would be installed 50' to 55' out into the wetlands from Sta. 13+50 to Sta. 21+50 on the north
side of the causeway. Additionally, fill would be placed 20' out into the adjacent wetlands from
Sta. 13+60 to Sta. 15+75 on the south side of the causeway.
On the east end of the project, 75 linear feet of RSS would also be installed up to 20' out into the
wetlands from Sta. 24+25 to Sta. 25+00 on the north side of the causeway. The RSS would be
backfrlled with soil and form the support for the new causeway road. The bases of the bridge would
be stabilized with Class 11 riprap.
The riprap around the western base would be approximately 220' in length and up to 40' in width,
while the riprap around the eastern base would be approximately 190' in length and up to 25' in
width. The riprap and soil backfill for the new roadway would extend up to 65' out into the
wetlands beyond the existing causeway, however, the applicant has steepened the slopes from the
traditional 3:1 slope to a 2:1 ratio to minimize wetland impacts in these areas. Mechanized clearing
would occur up to approximately 10' beyond the RSS and riprap, with additional hand clearing
under and in the vicinity of the temporary work bridge and new bridge.
The road would then be replaced from Sta. 12+10 to Sta. 21 + 88 and from Sta. 23+93 to Sta.
32+82 with two 12' wide travel lanes with eight -foot paved shoulders. New guardrails would be
extended from the approaches to the bridge for 903' from the west side of the bridge and 282' from
the east side of the bridge. Six driveway entrances would have to be relocated to adjacent upland
areas at the east end of the project to continue to provide access to the residences there.
The applicant has committed to build the bridge with no deck drains over surface waters. The
stormwater would be captured in the shoulder berm gutters on each side of the bridge and conveyed
to grated drop inlets at each end of the bridge. The stormwater would flow from the grated drop
inlets to lower elevations via 15" piping onto riprap dissipator pads. All stormwater would outfall
outside of existing wetlands or into areas where mechanized clearing has occurred.
The existing aerial and underground telecommunication lines on the north side of the causeway
are to be abandoned along the length of the project. The telecommunication lines would be
consolidated into one conduit and relocated onto the existing utility poles on the south side of the
causeway. The other remaining utilities are not in conflict with the project.
After construction of the new bridge, the existing bridge, bridge piles, and bridge abutments
would be completely demolished and removed from the project site utilizing NCDOT's Best
Management Practices for Construction and Maintenance Activities. The pavement at each end of
the existing bridge would then be obliterated from Sta. 15+25 to Sta. 22+00 and from Sta. 23+70 to
Sta. 31+00 were no longer needed. An approximately 40' wide by 550' long portion of the existing

FIELD INVESTIGATION REPORT:
N.C.D.O.T. — Pender Bridge 28 over Long Creek
PAGE #4
causeway at the west end of the bridge would be excavated down to match adjacent natural
elevations from Sta. 16+50 to Sta. 22+00, while an approximately 40' wide by 500' long section
would be removed from the east end of the bridge from Sta. 23+93 to Sta. 28+50 and restabilized
with appropriate vegetation.
Anticipated Impacts
The new bridge would permanently shade 1,925 sq. ft. of open water, while the temporary work
bridge would shade an additional 1,590 sq. ft. of open water during construction of the project. The
proj ect would require permanently filling 30,144 sq. ft. of Section 404 Wetlands and the mechanized
clearing of 8,625 sq. ft. of Section 404 Wetlands for the relocation of the roadway and temporary
work bridge access. Construction of the new and temporary work bridges would require hand
clearing 10,716 sq. ft. of Section 404 Wetlands, while the relocation of the utility lines would require
an additional 4,269 sq. ft, of hand clearing in Section 404 Wetlands. The removal of a portion ofthe
existing causeways would result in the excavation of 1,655 sq. ft. of Section 404 Wetlands to blend
the causeway removal areas in with the adjacent natural wetland elevations. The N.C. Division of
Mitigation Services has accepted responsibility for providing mitigation for the impacts associated
with the project, as indicated by their acceptance letter dated February 21, 2023.
The removal of the causeway areas would result in approximately 42,000 sq. ft. and 13,000 cubic
yards of high ground excavation and partial restoration of previous floodplain area. The project
would result in an additional 120,989 sq. ft. of high ground disturbance for the grading and paving of
the new approaches to the bridge and temporary work bridge, as well as utility work on the project.
The vertical navigable clearance underthe proposed bridge would remain the same as the existing
bridge at 10' above the normal water level of Long Creek. The proposed bridge would allow an
increase in the horizontal clearance from the current 36' of clearance to a proposed clearance of 63'.
Impacts to existing navigation within Long Creek would be minimal while the new bridge was under
construction as the temporary work bridge would match the "low steel" of the existing bridge and
would have bents spaced a minimum of 36' apart at the channel to avoid any constriction of the
existing channel opening. The project would result in the removal of the existing private pier in the
northeast quadrant of the project.
The applicant has designed the project to minimize and avoid impacts to wetlands and waters of
the state that include but are not limited to lengthening the bridge, the use of 2:1 fill slopes in
jurisdictional areas, capturing all stormwater from the bridge and discharging it outside of wetland
areas or into areas where mechanized clearing has occurred, and the use of hand clearing only in
wetlands where practicable. No impacts to any SAV or shellfishing waters are expected in
association with the project. A localized increase in turbidity can be expected during the in -water
construction portion of the new and temporary bridges, as well as during the removal of the existing
bridge.
The project would minimize the existing overtopping condition during storms and decrease the
base flood elevation by 0.3' in the project vicinity. The public is expected to benefit upon
completion of the project by the increase in the safety of the new roadway and structures.
Submitted by: Stephen Lane —Morehead City District — May 11, 2023