North Carolina Outer Banks Herbert C. Bonner Oregon Inlet Bridge is a photograph by Mark VanDyke which was uploaded on June 14th, 2013.
North Carolina Outer Banks Herbert C. Bonner Oregon Inlet Bridge
The Herbert Bonner Bridge was built in the sixties with an engineered thirty year lifespan. Here we are in 2015 and the bridge still stands! The... more
by Mark VanDyke
Title
North Carolina Outer Banks Herbert C. Bonner Oregon Inlet Bridge
Artist
Mark VanDyke
Medium
Photograph
Description
The Herbert Bonner Bridge was built in the sixties with an engineered thirty year lifespan. Here we are in 2015 and the bridge still stands! The only land access between the mainland and the string of barrier islands in the southern Outer Banks villages, the Bonner Bridge is a critical transportation project for the local tourist economies. Multiple attempts at a replacement bridge have been scrapped and/or taken to court over environmental issues, making this a very controversial structure for many.
The Oregon Inlet, the channel of water that is crossed by the Bonner Bridge is a major commercial fishing route from the sound to the ocean and the Gulf. Natural shoaling closes this channel up regularly, thus, North Carolina dredges the route constantly for economic purposes. However, this process is robbing the natural long shore drift of sand that feeds the primary dune system along the beach to the south. Thus, the dunes, starved for sand, must be mechanically rebuilt frequently by the state of North Carolina in order to provide primary defense against storm surge overtaking the Outer Banks Scenic Byway (NC-12). It is a situation where man-made interference with the natural world has caused a problem, and the solution has been to throw more man-made interference in hopes that perhaps things will magically right themselves. It's somewhat comical and sad at the same time.
Uploaded
June 14th, 2013
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Comments (14)
Andrey Godyaykin
This is a great picture!
Mark VanDyke replied:
Thank you, Andrey! I really wanted to document this bridge before it is replaced--so many memories crossing it as a child en route to a family vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina!
Mark VanDyke
Appreciate that, Natalie! This was just a scouting trip, but the sky turned such nice color that I had to start shooting more concertedly :-)
Mark VanDyke
Thanks so much, Anne-Elizabeth Whiteway! This was a great evening in the Outer Banks of North Carolina!
Mark VanDyke
Thanks, Michael! I camped each night just down the road and thought to myself as I drove back to my campsite how nice this shot could be--stopped one evening, got some great color, and thought the simplicity really worked. I really appreciate your great words and comments!
Michael Weeks
This picture is so peaceful with great color contrast and a really clean composition. I really like the softness of the water from the exposure and the red tail light is cool too. Mark I really love all of the history and facts that you include with your photos. Very informative. I love your biography as well, I see that you are very passionate about the outdoors and photography and it shows in your photography! Photography for me as well is pretty much all about the thrill of chasing the light, being outdoors and bring back home a lot of pictures.
Mark VanDyke
Thanks! I thought I would like the head lights better than the tail lights going over the Bonner Bridge but I found this one my most appealing take from the trip!
Nancy Harrison
Although it is obviously a controversial subject, you've captured the unpretentious bridge as it is, without knowing or caring what it has or will become in all it's glory as a silhouette. Now you have captured a moment in time to cherish, even after all the controversy is over and the new bridge is built. Such a beautiful capture of an aging bridge! v/f
Mark VanDyke replied:
Thank you, Nancy for the good words! It will be neat when the Bonner Bridge is replaced someday soon and this image becomes a document of what was there.
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