MANTEO -- Gov. Pat McCrory and fellow Republicans are piling up the pressure, hoping an environmental group drops its lawsuit against North Carolina's plans to replace a key Outer Banks bridge.  McCrory said, in Nags Head on Friday, he'll write the directors of the Southern Environmental Law Center urging them to quit. The General Assembly's top two lawmakers also blamed the group for the emergency shutdown of the Bonner Bridge, the only road link between Hatteras Island and the mainland.  Earlier this week, State Transporation Secretary Tony Tata also was critical that the lawsuit is being appealed.

Tata said, "The crass statement, the very shallow-ignorant-of-the-facts statement, that 'if they build this bridge it'll just happen again.' Well this bridge has been here 50 years, 20 years beyond it's life span, and this is the first time it's been closed for scouring."

A proposed replacement has been held up by litigation. The environmental group favors a 17-mile bridge costing $1 billion over the state's plan, saying the shorter span ignores washouts and breaches on the island's main road.