In April, state and local officials opened up the nearly-complete Jug Handle Bridge in Rodanthe for a community day where locals could walk and bike the 2.4-mile span over Pamlico Sound. The bridge's opening to traffic has been delayed. (Kari Pugh)

The opening of the Rodanthe Bridge, which will carry N.C. 12 around a flood-prone section of the Outer Banks, has been delayed because of substandard pavement markings.

The N.C. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that the markings on the 2.4-mile bridge failed to meet its “specifications for quality and reflectivity.”

The markings, installed early last week, were the final step before the $154 million bridge could open to traffic. Had they passed inspection Tuesday, the bridge would be open now, said NCDOT spokesman Tim Hass.

Instead, the primary contractor on the project, Flatiron Construction, will hire another subcontractor to re-stripe the bridge and the approaches at either end. It’s not clear how long that will take, Hass said.

The markings are a special paint that contains tiny glass beads that reflect light from a car’s headlights. On Tuesday, after the entire bridge and the approaches had been striped, another contractor brought in a special machine that measures the paint’s reflectivity.

Hass said it’s not clear yet whether the problem is with the paint or how it was applied.

“But whatever it was, it wasn’t reflecting enough light that we felt comfortable with it,” he said. “Because there’s no lights on that bridge, and when people are going over at night, you want them to be able to see the lane markings.”

Hass said it’s not clear yet if the new subcontractor will be able to cover over the substandard paint or will have to remove it first.

The bridge carries N.C. 12 out over Pamlico Sound, bypassing the south end of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and a section of the highway just north of the village of Rodanthe that the ocean frequently washes over during storms. It’s known as the jug handle bridge because of the way it sticks out over the sound.

Construction of the $154 million bridge began in 2018. It had been scheduled to open in April, when NCDOT held a “community day” to let local residents run, walk and cycle over the bridge before it opened to traffic.

Hass said the delay was caused by a faulty expansion joint that needed to be replaced, a process that took longer because of the recent nor’easter.

“We’ve had issues with weather. We’ve had issues with that expansion joint,” Hass said. “And now, unfortunately, the striping isn’t up to our specifications.”

The cost of re-striping the bridge is not yet known, Hass said, but it and the new expansion joint will be Flatiron’s responsibility.