How long is the Wright Brothers Memorial Bridge?

The Wright Memorial Bridge spans a length of 14,867.9 feet (about 2.8 miles) over the Currituck Sound.

Part of the US-158, the eastbound portion of the Wright Memorial Bridge opened in 1966, while the westbound part wasn’t constructed until 1995. There are two lanes going either way and this a heavily used and critical connector to mainland North Carolina and the Outer Banks, a chain of barrier islands off the coast of the state.

The connection between Point Harbor and Kitty Hawk, the Wright Memorial Bridge in North Carolina passes over the Currituck Sound. Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge and the Wright Memorial Bridge are the only two bridges that connect the Outer Banks to mainland North Carolina.

If you want to access the barrier islands, you’ll have to cross one of these two cement structures, or travel by boat!

The photo above (via the Outer Banks History Center), shows the Wright Memorial Bridge heading into Kitty Hawk before the structure was replaced in 1966.

Imagine what traffic on Saturdays in the summer would be like if this was still the bridge!