BAYBORO, N.C. (WNCT) — The Pamlico County Board of Commissioners met on Monday and drafted a resolution requesting a feasibility study by the NC Department of Transportation on building a new bridge there.

Specifically, the resolution covers the possibility of building a bridge between Cherry Branch and Minnesott Beach. Currently, the quickest way to get between the two points is by ferry. The only other way is by driving there, which is a much longer trip.

The resolution states that last year, about 325,000 people used the Minnessott-Cherry Branch ferry. In the resolution, the Pamlico County Board of Commissioners wants the NC Department of Transportation to conduct the study to find a way to get a bridge to replace the ferry.

Minnesott Beach is located in Pamlico County and Cherry Branch is located in Craven County. The connection of the two counties could be beneficial in many ways as Pamlico County is rural and “surrounded by water on the eastern and southern sides,” the resolution states.

“A transportation route crossing the Neuse River between Minnesott Beach and Cherry Branch is extremely important to the local economy, providing transportation to local businesses, community colleges, public schools and U.S. Marine Corp Air Station (Cherry Point),” according to the County of Pamlico,” the resolution reads.

Due to Cherry Point’s plans for expansion in the future, a bridge could also “serve as an important transportation and emergency evacuation route for Cherry Point and citizens of Carteret and Craven Counties,” according to the resolution.

The resolution also comes just a couple of weeks after concerns were raised about the state trying to include in its new budget fees to take any ferry. Pamlico County and Beaufort County each drafted resolutions against that proposal. The state later dropped that idea.