COLUMBIA, N.C. (WAVY) — Work on a replacement to a bridge that serves as a key link to the Outer Banks and is part of a major hurricane evacuation route will begin soon and is expected to open to traffic in fall 2029, now that a $450 million contract is in place. Skanska USA was awarded a $450 million contract to replace the Lindsay C. Warren Bridge — also known as the Alligator River Bridge — that goes over the Alligator River on U.S. 64 in Tyrrell and Dare counties. The North Carolina Board of Transportation approved the contract. Work is expected to begin soon on a new bridge to replace the 65-year-old Lindsay C. Warren Bridge over the Alligator River between Tyrrell and Dare counties under a $450 million contract awarded by the N.C. Department of Transportation. (Photo - NCDOT) The project will replace the current 65-year-old swing-span bridge with a modern two-lane fixed-span, high-rise bridge just north of the current bridge. The new bridge will include two, 12-foot travel lanes with 8-foot breakdown lanes. Funding for the project is helped by a $110 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which passed in 2021. Skanska workers will start driving bridge pilings in the next few weeks, weather permitting, and will start other activities, to include clearing, soon after. The terms of the contract stipulate that the new bridge will open to traffic in fall 2029, with the demolition of the current bridge in spring 2030. The current bridge was completed in 1960 is a critical hurricane evacuation route, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation and is maintained regularly, though it's prone to occasional mechanical failures, forcing drivers on a 99-mile detour. The bridge is rated as "structurally deficient," though the N.C. Department of Transportation stresses that the bridge is safe. NCDOT said the bridge is reaching the end of its lifecycle and must have more frequent maintenance and monitoring. It said the work to keep up maintenance on the current bridge "negatively impacts its ability to provide a reliable connection between Columbia, Manns Harbor, Manteo and the Outer Banks. The new bridge is also expected to improve river traffic, as more than 4,000 boats pass through the swing-span every year.