THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 24, 1994 TAG: 9408240511
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COROLLA LENGTH: Long : 142 lines
Maryland resident Connie Rubler wants a bridge across Currituck Sound so she can cut 90 minutes off her road trips to this northern Outer Banks beach.
Former Philadelphia residents Bob and Susie Stubbs - who bought a home near the Corolla lighthouse eight years ago - don't want a bridge at all.
And Aydlett native Elizabeth Donski just wants to make sure the proposed five-mile crossing won't be in her backyard.
For three hours Tuesday afternoon, more than 50 people turned out to ask questions, offer suggestions and discuss a Mid-County Bridge, which would link Currituck County's mainland with North Carolina's barrier islands about 10 miles south of the Virginia line.
If the estimated $39 million plan is completed, the bridge will cut the driving time from Hampton Roads to the Outer Banks in half.
``We're looking at improving the accessibility of Currituck's beaches from the mainland,'' said Jim Reed, a planner with Parsons Brinckerhoff consulting group's Raleigh office. ``We're going to weigh the costs and benefits of various options to improve the transportation system. And we'll present all of our findings and recommendations to the N.C. Department of Transportation in February.
``We want to know all about Currituck County - and we want to hear what Currituck County wants.''
Sponsored by North Carolina's transportation department and Parsons Brinckerhoff, which has a $600,000 state contract for the bridge planning study, Tuesday's Informal Public Workshop was the first of two meetings that the consulting firm plans to conduct for the Mid-County Bridge.
The second public workshop will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. tonight at the Griggs Elementary School library in Poplar Branch.
Subsequent public hearings will be scheduled as planners gather more concrete information - and begin making decisions about the bridge.
``Right now, we're just asking a lot of questions. So this is a good time to give input,'' said Reed, who wore a crisp white T-shirt emblazoned with a blue bridge jutting from behind an orange lighthouse. ``There will be many more opportunities to comment.''
Although the yearlong study has not yet finalized much of the bridge project, planners have narrowed site options down considerably.
The western edge of the span would connect with U.S. Route 158 on the Currituck County mainland and one of the following:
State Secondary Road 1142 in Waterlily;
State Secondary Road 1140 in Aydlett;
North Carolina Route 3 in Poplar Branch.
The eastern tip of the bridge will connect with North Carolina Route 12 on the Currituck County Outer Banks at one of the following locations:
South of the Currituck Shooting Club;
Across from the Corolla Food Lion grocery store;
Between the Whalehead Club and Monteray Shores.
Tolls of $1 to $10 may be levied for the crossing and could continue indefinitely - or only as long as needed to pay for the bridge.
Design of the span would begin in 1997.
Construction could start by the turn of the century.
``I really think they need another bridge to the Outer Banks as soon as possible,'' said Rubler, who owns a Corolla home and attended Tuesday's hearing. ``Traffic is terrible. If a hurricane came through here and we all had to evacuate, it would be horrific. A bridge would increase the rental potential for our property.
``But it also would save us more than an hour and a half of driving.''
About 250 people live on the roughly 15 miles of Currituck County's barrier islands year-round. In the summer, an estimated 25,000 people per day drive the two-lane road through town. On weekends especially, backups at the Wright Memorial Bridge can stretch more than a dozen miles.
The Stubbses, however, don't mind the traffic an hour away from their house. The Philadelphia couple purchased a lot in northern Corolla a decade ago to escape urban congestion. A second span onto the Outer Banks would only bring more people - and problems - closer to home, they said.
``A bridge to Currituck's beaches would change the whole texture of this area. This place will be built out completely within 10 years of that bridge beginning,'' Bob Stubbs said at Tuesday's workshop.
``It will bring heavier traffic congestion, noise and crime,'' said Stubbs' wife, Susie. ``We've heard all the arguments and realize there will be safety benefits to a bridge. But we don't think the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages.
``If a span is built to Corolla, this place will become just like Wilmington or Atlantic Beach.''
Since most people were milling around looking at maps rather than sitting through a formal meeting, it was tough to gauge whether the bridge had more supporters or opponents at Tuesday's workshop.
Most participants just seemed to have a lot of questions.
And some were satisfied to finally be asked their opinions.
``I think this whole scheme was cooked up by real estate developers. The bridge was ramrodded down the citizens' throats by political interests. We never even got to vote on it,'' said Mildred T. Quidley, who lives on Currituck County's mainland and traveled for more than an hour to attend Tuesday's hearing. ``I feel it's a done deal now - but I'm glad they're finally asking us.
``I'm just afraid the transportation folks will do like they always do and take my land.''
Donski also was worried that state officials might put the span on her property or have it cross through her sleepy soundside village.
But consultants and transportation officials assured residents that their concerns would be taken into consideration.
Cost won't be the only factor in determining the bridge's location, Parsons Brinckerhoff project manager John Page said. Studies also will look at environmental impacts, effects on personal property and accessibility of the sites. Other options - including ferries across the shallow sound - also are being evaluated.
``Evacuation is the number one reason we need a bridge - and we'll focus on state support to get it,'' said Dick Quible, executive director of the 3,000-plus-member Committee for a Mid-County Bridge. ``We've succeeded in getting $150,000 in federal money for planning already. And we're working on getting a toll authority established.
``A bridge would help the county provide services out here and give the people access to their government without having to make a two-hour round trip.''
Currituck County Board of Commissioners Chairman B.U. Evans agreed.
``We need a bridge, ultimately, for safety purposes. But it also would be the means to unite both ends of the county,'' said Evans, whose board has spent thousands of dollars lobbying for the Mid-County Bridge.
``We endorse anything we have to to get that bridge built,'' Evans said of his fellow elected officials.
``We really need to to span the gap between Currituck's mainland and our Outer Banks.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
YOUR IMPUT WANTED
The Raleigh office of the Parsons Brinckerhoff international
consulting firm is conducting a yearlong study on a proposed
Mid-County Bridge. The estimated $39 million span would connect
Currituck County's mainland with the northern Outer Banks. If built,
the five-mile-long bridge across the Currituck Sound would cut the
driving time from Hampton Roads to North Carolina's Outer Banks in
half.
Planners want to hear your concerns, comments and questions about
the bridge. They are hosting a public forum on the project from 4
p.m. to 7 p.m. tonight at the Griggs Elementary School library in
Poplar Branch. Everyone is invited.
Comments also will be taken from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily by
planners John Page or Jim Reed at their toll-free Mid-County Bridge
hot line: 1-800-961-LINK (5465).
by CNB