William B. Umstead Bridge
| William B. Umstead Bridge | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 35°55′07″N 75°44′57″W / 35.91855°N 75.74911°WCoordinates: 35°55′07″N 75°44′57″W / 35.91855°N 75.74911°W |
| Carries |
 US 64
|
| Crosses | Croatan Sound |
| Locale | Dare County |
| Other name(s) | Dare County Bridge 9 Croatan Sound Bridge Manns Harbor Bridge |
| Named for | William B. Umstead |
| Owner | NCDOT |
| Maintained by | NCDOT |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Steel stringer |
| Total length | 14,265.8 feet (4,348.2 m) |
| Width | 26.6 feet (8.1 m) |
| Clearance below | 44.9 feet (13.7 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | 1955 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 1,800 (as of 2012) |
| References | |
The William B. Umstead Bridge is a two-lane automobile bridge spanning the Croatan Sound, between Manns Harbor and Roanoke Island, in Dare County, North Carolina. The bridge carries US 64 and is utilized by local and seasonal tourist traffic.
The bridge is dedicated to William B. Umstead, who was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a U.S. Senator and the 63rd Governor of North Carolina.
Plans for a bridge to connect the North Carolina mainland with Roanoke Island started in the 1920s, when local developers wanting to make the Outer Banks a tourist destination. However, because of the high cost, the State Highway Commission focused their funds on improving the primary highway system. As a result, the local businessmen took matters into their own hands and formed private toll-bridge companies; building Roanoke Sound Bridge in 1928 and the Wright Memorial Bridge in 1930. By around 1940, free ferry service was available between Manns Harbor and Manteo.
By the 1950s, the Outer Banks eventually became a tourist destination and the State Highway Commission began taking an increasingly active role in the area. In 1955 Dare County Bridge 9 was built and was dedicated to William B. Umstead on August 2, 1956. In 1966, the bridge was rehabilitated.
In 2002, the bridge was bypassed by a larger, more modern bridge, the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge to the south, which provides a more direct access to Bodie Island by connecting directly to the Washington Baum Bridge between Roanoke and Bodie Islands; traffic using the Virginia Dare Bridge no longer needs to go through Manteo to reach the Outer Banks.
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