THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 11, 1995 TAG: 9501110433
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
With front-end loaders and a small fleet of dump trucks, workers Tuesday began moving Jockey's Ridge State Park back where it belongs.
Employees of Parks Land Development Co. of Elizabeth City hauled more than 50 truckloads of sand from the south end of the huge inland dune to the north end. They will continue to do so for the next two weeks in an effort to contain the constantly blowing sand within the park's 414-acre boundaries.
By the time they have completed the $38,000 project, crews will have relocated 15,000 cubic yards of sand about a mile and a half north.
``That's enough sand to cover a football field - nine feet high,'' Parks Land President David Parks said. ``It's hard to envision. But it's an awful lot of sand. We've moved earth like this before. But never on a state contract.''
A rare geographical formation, Jockey's Ridge is 115 feet tall and 1.5 miles long. Scientists say it is the southernmost extremity of a barrier island dune system that extends north to False Cape State Park in Virginia. The half-mile-wide dune is one of North Carolina's five most-popular parks, providing a haven for hang-gliders and sunset hikers.
Each year, more than 790,000 people visit Jockey's Ridge.
Wind and weather patterns cause inland dunes to migrate along fairly regular paths. Since the late 1800s, Nags Head's largest dune has buried a 200-room hotel and bowling alley, and a miniature golf course. A 1977 study reported that other nearby migrating dunes move southwesterly at a rate of more than 24 feet per year.
Aerial photos suggest that Jockey's Ridge is slightly slower. But in the past five years, Park Superintendent George Barnes said, the dune has seemed to pick up its pace. State officials fear that it might swallow Soundside Road - and about a half-dozen houses on the north side of the residential street.
North Carolina law prohibits homeowners from removing sand from Jockey's Ridge - even if the sand is on privately owned property. So in November, a panel of state legislators approved plans to purchase four vacant lots and one 1,824-square-foot house on the north edge of Soundside Road - adjacent to the dune's southernmost border. The lots are covered with up to eight feet of sand - some of which was deposited there by road-clearing crews. Sand also has encroached on the backyard swing-set at the house.
About $391,000 in federal funds and bond proceeds were spent acquiring the private properties. When the current project is completed, the dune's southernmost boundary should be about 30 feet north. That will leave a 20-foot shoulder between Soundside Road and Jockey's Ridge.
Sand is being deposited into a basin near the state park headquarters, at a location where scientists think it will blow right back onto the dune.
``I'm thrilled to death they're finally moving that sand,'' Soundside Road resident Bob Crutchfield said Tuesday as blue dump trucks traversed his street from 10 a.m. until dark. Crutchfield owns the house that the state bought last fall. In less than three years, he said, the sand moved about 100 feet southwest from the dune into his backyard. Crutchfield and his wife plan to remain in their home until May. Then, they'll move across the street to a new house, which is under construction.
``I'll be a few hundred yards to the southwest. So I'll feel much safer,'' said Crutchfield, who got $155,000 for his house and land. ``Now I know that the state is taking responsibility for that park's sand. I can speak for all of the residents of Soundside Road when I tell you, we're excited that they're out there working.
``Eventually, sand would have blocked our road and access to many of these homes,'' Crutchfield said. ``Something had to be done. Moving the sand will buy the state some time.''
Barnes said he could not predict if the project would work - much less how long it will last. Funds to shift the sand were rededicated by the General Assembly from parkland purchase coffers. Another $15,000 remains on standby
``We reserved some money from that initial appropriation just in case we need to clear Soundside Road again. That's our main concern,'' Barnes said. ``This whole thing is sort of like an experiment. The dune's movement is part of a natural process. We're just kind of helping nature along.
``All we can do is move sand from one side of the park to the other,'' the superintendent said. ``Then, we'll see what happens.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
More than 50 truckloads of sand was hauled northward Tuesday at
Jockey's Ridge State Park in Nags Head.
by CNB