THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 21, 1995 TAG: 9511210281
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HATTERAS ISLAND LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Workers began paving the new portion of Route 12 on Pea Island Monday.
By Christmas, the new, more-western version of the only road on this Outer Banks island should be open to traffic, transportation officials said.
``The asphalt should be completed within two weeks. Then, they need to do a little bit more grading out there along the shoulder,'' said Chris Varner, state Department of Transportation spokesman. ``When they finish that work - and striping the section - the new road will ready for traffic.''
A two-lane blacktop that is the only land link between Hatteras Island and the rest of the world, Route 12 winds within a few feet of the Atlantic in several spots. At high tides during storms, full moons and big blows, saltwater and sand often spill across the pavement, blocking the road. State officials had to shut down the southern stretch of the highway at least three times in 1994 and once in 1995 - keeping tourists out of Hatteras Island and locking the area's 5,000 permanent residents in.
To keep the road clear, state officials decided to re-route the most-threatened stretch away from the ocean. In June, a crew from Barnhill Contractors began clearing a new road bed on Pea Island. The new, western route runs from the Pea Island Visitor Center to just past the maintenance area at the southern end of the refuge - almost directly across from a stackof sandbags that is helping hold back the tides.
The new portion of the road, which cost about $3 million, is three miles long. It sits about 300 feet west of the current highway and is about the same elevation.
``When the new road opens, that existing road will be obliterated,'' Varner said. ``All pieces of the pavement will be taken away.''
Since 1990, state transportation officials have spent more than $31 million trying to keep Route 12 open. They have invested another $18 million in routine maintenance. Special efforts have included a $1.8 million beach-nourishment project to pump sand back on the beach and $920,000 worth of sandbags stacked along the shore.
After the new road opens, Varner said, the sandbags that have helped protect the existing road must be removed.
``We're looking at trying to replace them by building a secondary dune system in that area,'' he said. ``But that hasn't been completely worked out yet.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by DREW C. WILSON, The Virginian-Pilot
A new stretch of state Route 12 cuts west of the old portion for
three miles, to avoid encroaching waves. The road costs about $1
million a mile and should be ready by Christmas.
KEYWORDS: NORTH CAROLINA STATE ROUTE 12 ROAD RELOCATION by CNB