The Wright Memorial Bridge comprises two automobile
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
The first bridge opened on September 27, 1930; built by the W.L. Jones Company of
Elizabeth City
Elizabeth City is a city in Pasquotank County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,629. Elizabeth City is the county seat and largest city of Pasquotank County. It is the cultural, economic and educ ...
and owned by the Wright Memorial Bridge Company. Entirely made of
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
, the span took six months to construct, at a cost of $225,000. A toll bridge costing $1 per trip, it became the official gateway to the
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...
and even featured an archway at the Kitty Hawk end that read "Dare County" at top, "1583 Birthplace of a Nation" on left, and "1903 Birthplace of Aviation" on right. The bridge replaced a privately run ferry service between Point Harbor and Kitty Hawk.
In June 1935, the State Highway Commission purchased the Wright Memorial Bridge for $150,000 and removed the toll. In 1934, NC 344 was replaced by NC 34; which was later replaced by US 158 in 1941. In 1966, the first Wright Memorial Bridge was replaced and razed.
Wright Memorial Bridge II
The second and current eastbound bridge opened in 1966, replacing the first Wright Memorial Bridge. The new two-lane concrete slab bridge allowed a speed limit, an improvement to the former bridge's speed limit. In 1995 a second parallel bridge was constructed to alleviate traffic, which became the westbound bridge. The older eastbound bridge was reconstructed in 1997. Both bridges together provide four lanes of traffic.