Construction of a long-planned replacement of the 60-year-old bridge that helps link Raleigh to the Outer Banks is set to begin later this year, and Peter Ruocchio couldn’t be more excited.
Not that the Wake Forest businessman has much free time to visit the Outer Banks very often. It’s more about the unique creative opportunity his firm, Ruocchio Designs Inc., has been given regarding how the $289.5 million four-lane span will look. Ruocchio and his team were selected to create four two-ton statues that will adorn the new bridge, which spans the Alligator River between Dare and Tyrell counties on U.S. Highway 64.
“It’s a big undertaking,” says Ruocchio, whose company operates from 13,000 sq. ft. of flex space at Wake Forest’s South Forest Industrial Park. Using the latest digital design tools, he and his team provide clients with a wide variety of sculpture, signage, and display products. Depending on client needs, Ruocchio works with wood, stone, metals, plastics, fiberglass, and high-density foams.
His role in building the new Alligator Bridge, a project of the N.C. Department of Transportation, will involve a blend of stainless steel and COR-TEN weathering steel. “These statues will weigh the better part of two tons each,” Ruocchio says.
Since the new bridge replaces North Carolina’s last “swing-span” bridge – an older class of draw bridges with a centerpiece that rotates on a single piling to let industrial and recreational marine traffic pass – NCDOT wanted something special. While design plans are in the early going, Ruocchio hints that the statues will depict elements of the region’s unique ecology and history.
The current Lindsay B. Warren Bridge opened in 1962. More than 4,000 boats traverse the Alligator River every year, forcing vehicle traffic to stop while the swing-span opens and closes. NCDOT has been eager to replace the structure for years, but its high price tag encountered resistance. With the bipartisan Congressional passage of the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November 2021, the state had the opportunity to apply for new federal funds. Last year, state and federal transportation authorities announced a $110 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant that will help fund the project.
"This bridge is a lifeline for the people of North Carolina both to and from the Barrier Islands,” said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper upon announcing the award. “It is one of the few options residents and visitors have for accessing our far eastern counties and this bridge replacement will serve our state for decades to come." The new three-mile-long bridge will be a modern high-rise bridge located just north of the current bridge.
Ruocchio, a Raleigh native who graduated from Cardinal Gibbons High School before earning his design degree from N.C. State University, is proud his firm was chosen to participate in the project. “When they do something cool like this, DOT typically shops it all around all over the country,” he says. Having the state Transportation Department as a client likely will mean additional opportunities for the firm. “It could open the door for more work with DOT,” he says.
Ruocchio says there is already an unrelated conversation going on with the North Carolina Transportation Museum near Salisbury. His client list already includes the North Carolina Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, and the Greensboro Science Center.
The firm’s initial work with the Greensboro Science Center involved building life-like dinosaurs in full-scale. More recently, Ruocchio and his team have crafted a 3,000-pound sculpture of a cassowary, the colorful flightless bird that is indigenous to the South Pacific. “We had to hire a crane to get it in the building,” he says. The firm continues to work with Golden Corral and its related restaurant concepts on indoor signage and displays. The company was featured in a recent promotional video shown to the standing-room-only crowd at the 2024 Wake Forest Economic Development Forum on February 7th.
Ruocchio recalls having just $200 to his name when he left N.C. State to make his mark in the design world. He pieced his company together one project at a time, surpassing client expectations and quickly getting referrals. “I’ve been in business 27 years, and it’s always been a word-of-mouth business,” he explains. “It’s done through reputation.”
He purchased land on Unicorn Drive at South Forest Industrial Park in November 2004 when there were only a few other tenants there. Two years later, Ruocchio built his current facility. “We were doing the math and found it was a no-brainer to own,” he recalls. Today, the park is fully built out, and Wake Forest’s overall population has surged. “It’s been pretty wild,” Ruocchio says.
There is room to expand his workspace by another 5,000 square-feet, if needed. “There have been a couple of times I wished I had more space,” he says. For now, Ruocchio Designs is satisfied with its current facility. Ruocchio also speaks highly of his workforce. “We employ people from every background – construction, welding, fabrication,” he says. Some are hired with little more than a reference from an existing employee. The company then teaches them the necessary skills. “We look for a work ethic,” he says of his hiring strategy. “Right now, I’ve got a wonderful core group of people who love to work, love to show up, and love to do their thing.”
President of the Wake Forest Business & Industry Partnership (WFBIP), Jason Cannon, believes Ruocchio’s journey is indicative of many successful businesses that have grown quietly yet steadily over the years in Wake Forest. “Pete brings such unique talents to the projects he undertakes, and one step at a time, his work has contributed remarkably in our community and across North Carolina,” Cannon says. “His success is our success, and we’re honored Ruocchio Designs calls Wake Forest home.”
