THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 4, 1995 TAG: 9503040424
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
In an effort to save the only road linking Hatteras Island to the northern Outer Banks, state highway workers could begin moving to the western part of N.C. Route 12 by June, North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Jones said Friday.
The state Board of Transportation agreed at a meeting in Raleigh to spend $2.1 million shifting three miles of the highway about 350 feet west of its current location. State officials previously approved $455,000 for planning and acquiring right-of-ways for the project.
The strip to be moved is on Pea Island, about four miles south of Oregon Inlet. That stretch of the two-lane road has been threatened and overwashed by storms in recent years, prompting workers to erect a sandbag wall on the east side of the highway several years ago. In 1994, officials had to close the highway at least four times after water and sand poured across the pavement.
``We should have a contract for this relocation project awarded by May,'' Jones said from his Raleigh office. ``We hope actual construction work can begin by June.
``That highway really needs some help.'' by CNB