THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 4, 1995 TAG: 9506050181
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEA ISLAND, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
For decades, they've used bulldozers to scoop sand off the road.
Three years ago, they built a $1million sandbag sea wall to hold back the waves.
Now, state transportation officials are relying on their last resort to save the only route connecting Hatteras Island with the rest of the world: They're moving the highway.
By Tuesday, workers plan to begin clearing land to shift three miles of Route 12 on Pea Island away from the ocean. They will build a new stretch of asphalt about 300 feet west of the existing road.
But the 700 sandbags that have helped keep that piece of pavement open since 1992 must be removed as soon as the new highway is finished.
``We have to take them out to comply with our permit. That worries us, of course. But it's the law,'' state Department of Transportation engineer R.E. ``Bob'' Capehart said. He commented Thursday after a meeting with 30 highway officials in Kill Devil Hills.
``Hopefully, we'll be allowed to do some beach nourishment in that area after the sandbags are gone. We plan to put the sand itself from the bags east of the dunes. The material can stay - but the bags have to go.''
During hurricanes and northeasters, the skinny strip of sand just south of the Oregon Inlet bridge usually is besieged by waves breaking across the pavement. Saltwater and sand spill over Route 12 during storms' high tides.
Last year, officials had to close the highway at least three times - keeping tourists out of Hatteras Island and eliminating all access for the area's 5,000 permanent residents. ``The part of road we're moving is one of the only original sections on that highway that hasn't been shifted already,'' state Department of Transportation official Neil Lassiter said.
``That whole highway, just about, has had to be moved away from the ocean.''
Local and state politicians have been talking about long-term plans to save Route 12 through Hatteras Island for years. Suggestions include building an elevated highway, creating a low-slung causeway over parts of the island, or bridging the entire Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Next week's work on the three-mile portion of the road is just another step in the continuing saga of short-term fixes.
``We're moving it about as far west as we could and still stay in an area that would support a roadbed,'' Capehart said. ``Really, our work is being controlled by the wetlands that are out there on the west side of the island. There wasn't too much room to shift. This is the last time we'll be able to move that part of the road.''
The stretch of highway being relocated is between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pea Island Visitor Center and the maintenance area at the south end of the National Wildlife Refuge - almost directly west of the sandbags. The new road will be 22 feet wide. Four-foot-wide paved shoulders and 4-foot-wide sand shoulders will flank each side.
That stretch of Route 12 is now about 5 feet above sea level. The new roadbed will be an average of 6 feet above sea level, Capehart said.
``We had to move the road there because of the threat from the ocean. It's not only in danger in the sandbag section. There are other weakened spots as well,'' he said.
``Initially, traffic will be impacted only by the movement of trucks and materials on the road. We won't have to close any lanes to traffic until we're ready to tie in the new portion with the rest of the road. That should be sometime in late fall - definitely after Labor Day.''
Barnhill Construction will supervise the $2.5 million project from its Kitty Hawk office.
Primarily, local workers will move the highway. Plans call for more than 50,000 cubic yards of fill material to be hauled from neighboring areas on Pea Island to help create the new roadbed - that's enough sand and dirt to fill 5,000 dump trucks.
The new section of Route 12 on Pea Island should be open for traffic in time for October fishing trips.
Capehart said the two new lanes should last about 25 years. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
N.C. ROUTE 12 MOVES WEST
What: A 3-mile stretch of Route 12 on Pea Island will be moved
about 300 feet west.
Where: Between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Visitor Center and
maintenance area, across from the sandbag wall.
When: Work will begin next week; should be completed by fall.
Why: To save the only road linking Hatteras Island with the rest
of the world from ever encroaching ocean waves.
Cost: $2.5 million of North Carolina taxpayers' money.
Source: State Department of Transportation
by CNB