Oregon Inlet is spanned by North Carolina Route 12 over the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, a 2.7-mile (4.3 km) bridge built in 1963.

Prior to the building of the bridge, Hatteras Island was only accessible by air or ferry. Ferries could carry a maximum of 2,000 people per day. The ferries cost the state $0.5 million per year to operate, and there were very long lines waiting for the ferries during peak season.

The environmental impact on the bridge and road was not fully understood at the time of construction, and now constant beach erosion, severe weather and high volume of traffic continually forces the state to protect the integrity of the road system. As much as $50 million was spent between 1987 and 1999 to repair and protect the Bonner Bridge and NC 12 from the ocean. The bridge was due for replacement by the early 1990s but construction on the new bridge has been continually held back by environmental lawsuits brought by the Southern Environmental Law Council.

The Bonner Bridge was expected to have a thirty-year lifespan. The bridge handles about 2 million cars per year, and the state DOT ranks it a 4 on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the safest.

The Federal Highway Administration has approved the plan to replace the bridge over Oregon Inlet that connects with Pea Island and lies within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The final alignment of the bridge has not yet been determined. Once a final alignment is chosen, construction of the new bridge, which will be longer and curve farther inland, will begin. It will cost approximately $1.3 billion and should by completed by 2014, although it is likely to be later. On July 26, 2011 NCDOT awarded a $215.8 million contract to replace the bridge. In September 2013 the last of the legal obstacles were handled after a judge ruled in favor of the new bridge to be constructed. Construction was set to begin in early 2013 but was halted once again after an appeal was filed by the SELC. The new bridge should open to traffic in spring 2015 and the majority of the existing bridge will be demolished by 2016 (a portion will remain as a fishing pier).

On December 3, 2013, NCDOT closed the bridge due to immediate safety concerns. Routine sonar scanning of the bridge identified scouring concerns, or areas where too much sand has eroded from the support structure of the bridge. After sand was dredged to support some of its pilings, the bridge reopened to traffic on December 15, 2013.

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