THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 1996 TAG: 9603130732
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COROLLA LENGTH: Long : 129 lines
Although they haven't formally decided where to build a bridge across Currituck Sound to the northern Outer Banks, state officials have purchased a $1.04-million plot in Corolla for the eastern end of the span.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation bought a 1.7-acre tract of land just north of TimBuck II shopping center, across from Corolla's Food Lion, on Feb. 16, Currituck County Register of Deeds Charlene Dowdy said Tuesday.
Unlike previous progress on the bridge project - which has been extensively publicized - state officials did not announce the purchase, acknowledging the acquisition only after being asked.
And despite public hearings that have been held to decide whether a bridge should be built and where to put it, transportation administrators said Tuesday that the five-mile-long, two-lane span from Corolla to the Currituck County mainland is basically a done deal.
They're still considering two options for the eastern end, they said, and will select one of three sites for the western terminus.
``A developer wanted to build a condominium complex on that Corolla site. So we went ahead and acquired it,'' transportation department planning director Calvin Leggett said from his Raleigh office. ``We were afraid if we didn't . . . we wouldn't have any available land left.
``We hate to buy land before we need it. It's a bit of a gamble on our part. . . ,'' he acknowledged. ``But with property values escalating the way they are, we might've had to knock down buildings to construct that bridge. If we decide to build the bridge somewhere else, we can always sell that property.''
Currituck County's Outer Banks are home to about 300 permanent residents. In summer months, more than 25,000 people occupy the skinny 15-mile-long stretch of sand. Corolla is about a 2 1/2-hour drive - without traffic problems - from Hampton Roads.
Only two bridges link the Outer Banks to North Carolina's mainland: the Wright Memorial Bridge to Kitty Hawk and the bridge between Manns Harbor and Roanoke Island.
Highway planners say another bridge would thin out heavy traffic and provide an extra emergency evacuation route. Construction on the $49 million to $71 million bridge is scheduled to begin in about five years.
When it's finished, the span will cut drive time from Tidewater to Corolla to under an hour - and could carry as many as 10,000 cars daily during peak tourist season.
Buck Thornton, who owns TimBuck II shopping center, sold the Corolla bridge site to the state.
``When that span opens, kids up here can be at Currituck schools in 30 minutes instead of spending an hour and a half riding a bus to Manteo,'' Thornton said. ``The bridge is a way to tie the disjointed county together and provide needed law enforcement and other services up here. People may even be able to live here and work in Tidewater.''
Some Corolla residents, however, fear that a bridge through their quiet community may destroy the very things they moved there to find.
``If they've got to build a bridge here, I can't think of a better place to put it than near TimBuck II, where it's already commercially built up. But, of course, we all hate to see it come,'' said Corolla Light resident Dottie Swarm, who retired to the northern beach community with her husband six years ago.
``We moved to Duck from Morehead City when that area got too congested. Then, when Duck built up, we moved up here. If we were younger, we'd probably be looking for another place to go now.''
North Carolina has been working on plans for the proposed bridge since 1989, when the General Assembly created a Highway Trust Fund to raise money with gasoline taxes and automobile transfer fees. In 1991, the property across from Food Lion was listed on state maps as an official bridge site. Last summer, legislators approved a state Bridge Authority that can charge tolls of up to $10 per vehicle to cross the planned span.
Leggett said that by creating the trust fund seven years ago, lawmakers approved the Mid-County Bridge. But to abide by federal funding policies, he said, transportation workers had to include other options - such as ferries across the Currituck Sound or widening existing roadways. Those options, he said, are no longer being considered. The only available alternative to building the bridge is not to build one at all.
Transportation department spokesman Bill Jones, however, said that if highway officials can't procure the necessary federal and state environmental permits to construct a span across the Currituck Sound, they won't be able to build the bridge.
``Federal environmental policies require us to look at no-build alternatives,'' Jones said. ``We still might find that there's a better way. That's why we're still seeking public comment.''
So far, highway officials have spent $1.85 million on the Mid-County Bridge - including last month's property purchase. Other money, which includes a $150,000 federal grant, has gone into planning, environmental studies and consultant fees.
Project Manager John Page of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas Inc. said he hopes to hold additional workshops and hearings on the mid-county span by early summer.
An environmental impact statement examining options for the eastern and western ends of the bridge is expected by late April. This fall, highway officials hope to decide where to build the bridge.
They're considering putting the eastern end on the land they just bought across from Food Lion or further north on a vacant tract at the north end of Monteray Shores. Possible western routes include a new two-lane road north of State Route 1140, between Coinjock and Aydlett, to connect the span to U.S. 158; a new two-lane road parallel to State Route 1140; and a new two-lane road in a sparsely developed area between Aydlett and Poplar Branch.
No options have been taken out on property for the western end of the bridge, highway officials said.
Nags Head restaurateur R.V. Owens III, who serves on the state transportation board, said he's pleased with the land purchase.
``I don't think it'll change the Outer Banks any, because Corolla's already busted wide open,'' he said. ``But another span up there will tremendously help the Currituck mainland with the quality and type of development they have.'' ILLUSTRATION: Map
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THE ROUTE
North Carolina transportation officials say that a Mid-County
bridge from Currituck County's mainland to Corolla would shorten
drive times from Hampton Roads to the northern Outer Banks by up to
90 minutes. Instead of having to drive south to Kitty Hawk, then
back north through Duck on winding N.C. 12, motorists could cross
Currituck Sound from an area between Aydlett and Poplar Branch
straight into Corolla. Developers predict that Currituck's beaches
could become a bedroom community for Tidewater residents who don't
mind an hour's commute.
by CNB