THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 5, 1996 TAG: 9601050641
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
A controversial plan demanding the removal of sandbags along N.C. Route 12 has been temporarily blocked by a judge's ruling.
Superior Court Judge Jerry Tillett granted Dare County's request Tuesday for a temporary restraining order to keep the bags between the highway and the ocean surf. The North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Department of Environment, Health and Natural Resources have sought removal of the artificial barriers.
A hearing is tentatively set for next Thursday in Manteo.
``It is a step in the right direction,'' Dare County spokesman Charles Hartig said. ``The county has clearly indicated that it would go to court to prevent the removal of the sandbags.''
NCDOT recently completed construction which shifted a portion of the highway, a section that regularly floods in high water.
The state Coastal Resources Commission insisted the bags be removed after the highway was shifted.
However, Bill Jones, a NCDOT spokesman, said the department will honor the injunction.
``We will comply with the order the judge issued,'' Jones said. ``As part of the placing of sandbags in 1992, and the project moving the road, we had to agree to remove the sandbags to get a CAMA permit. But we will comply with the restraining order.''
Hartig said the artificial barriers have been effective in protecting N.C. Route 12, the only road linking Hatteras Island to the rest of Dare County.
``The sandbags have done an a good job in keeping ocean overwash and debris off N.C. 12,'' Hartig said. ``There's no good reason to remove those sandbags.''
He added, ``N.C. 12 is the lifeline between Hatteras Island and the Dare County mainland. The county has a responsibility to take whatever steps are necessary to keep the road open.'' by CNB