Highway 12 closed

[RAMBLIN RED]

DOT just announced that the Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet (the only access to the south Outer Banks) is closed due to excessive erosion around the support structures. Repair expected to take around 90 days. This Bridge was supposed to be replaced in 1990 but environmental lawsuits for more than 20 years have blocked every effort. We will have to deal with emergency ferries which are constantly aground between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point. Sigh....life in paradise...

[Marty Hill]

As you say, life in paradise.

[upflying]

Maybe the state closed the bridge to force the hand of the tree huggers..

[RAMBLIN RED]

DOT engineers say bridge is unsafe to support it's own weight because currents have washed away piling support and revealed "other troubling things".

I have nothing against conservation of natural resourses, but people's livlihood are at stake and those with health issues are in a real pinch.

[Huzband]

Gotta love the planet savers.

[Bud]

As with most things in life, there is a balance that needs to be kept.

[Mike]

As with most things in life, there is a balance that needs to be kept.

 

Yer a radical thinker, Bud.

[Rougarou]

Rule of thumb,....don't live on a sandbar

[RAMBLIN RED]

Rule of thumb,....don't live on a sandbar

 

A sensible person would agree.... but my roots are deep here, well before the civil war. Just fix my bridge

[Bud]

I hope your bridge gets fixed.

 

Folks have been living there since the 1500's. Are you related to any of those folks?

 

Your plight is like many other who live in areas that are in constant danger from forces of nature. Just like the folks who live in flood plains on the Mississippi River in Illinois and MO. They also have a strong attachment to place.

 

The economic realities of our government resources today require tough choices. Should governmental insurance pay for people who, having received payment once because of floods, be eligible to continue to be covered every time it floods? Common sense would tell you that if you live in the Mississippi River flood plane, you will experience floods from time to time.

 

At some point, people who choose to continue to live there should, IMO, be prepared to shoulder the whole burden. In Southern Illinois, a whole town was moved off of the flood plain and onto the bluff above the river.

 

For a good overview I recommend the book "The Beaches Are Moving: The Drowning of America's Shoreline". Written in the 80's IIRC correctly but the premise is still true today. How can we make good choices when wanting to live near the water.

 

The last east coast hurricane shows that there is an ongoing battle over individuals rights and public expense when it comes to the coasts of the US.

 

Another book that is interesting regarding the OB is "A Ribbon of Sand." Part history, part nature story and very informative.

 

Isn't this a great satellite photo?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RAMBLIN RED]

Hi Bud, everything you say is true, the long term realities here are grim.Sooner or later rising ocean levels and increasingly severe storms will make life impossible. Now it is only difficult. Even with my home on pilings my insurance continues to climb and that alone may drive me inland. My family on my mothers side goes back at least to the late 1700s then records get shaky. I love this place but I am forced to be realistic. On the other hand, I'm 72 and maybe the place will last long enough for me, of course it only takes one hurricane.

[Bud]

Well Red, I think you are gonna make it.

 

Funny how where we live helps define who we are.

[Rougarou]

Hi Bud, everything you say is true, the long term realities here are grim.Sooner or later rising ocean levels and increasingly severe storms will make life impossible. Now it is only difficult. Even with my home on pilings my insurance continues to climb and that alone may drive me inland. My family on my mothers side goes back at least to the late 1700s then records get shaky. I love this place but I am forced to be realistic. On the other hand, I'm 72 and maybe the place will last long enough for me, of course it only takes one hurricane.

 

I've traced my family back to the early 1700's in Louisiana, where I grew up, but you'd never catch me living in that state again.

 

I don't think that just because family is from a certain place that branches can't be formed elsewhere.

 

We do visit the banks on occasion and when I was stationed at Camp LeJeune, we visited almost on a monthly basis.

 

But there's no way I'd want to live there.

[tallman]

"Over two hundred million trips are taken daily across deficient bridges in the nation’s 102 largest metropolitan regions. In total, one in nine of the nation’s bridges are rated as structurally deficient, while the average age of the nation’s 607,380 bridges is currently 42 years. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates that to eliminate the nation’s bridge deficient backlog by 2028, we would need to invest $20.5 billion annually, while only $12.8 billion is being spent currently. The challenge for federal, state, and local governments is to increase bridge investments by $8 billion annually to address the identified $76 billion in needs for deficient bridges across the United States.

 

link to bridges report from ASCE

 

[RAMBLIN RED]

Funding for the Bonner Bridge replacement has been approved and contracts awarded. And yet the lawsuits from the SELC (Southern environmental Law Center) and Defenders of Wildlife have blocked any construction for 20 years. A local wag suggests we throw a wild party and let them defend that wildlife. lol

[taylor1]

I was lucky enough to have been stationed at Coast Guard Station CapeLookout when I was young. I absolutely fell in love with the area and way of life since day one. I have lived both up and down on the east and west coasts and had always thought of the outer banks as home.I very recently was able to move back and life is good. Just like everything else, I'll take what is thrown at me and deal with it

[Sil]

I married a "Virginia blue blood" who also has roots in Pink Hill, NC. The Outer Banks are summer in this part of the world. In her family it is a tradition that is over a century old. I know it stinks for the OBX folks, hopefully they can now expedite the process and get you all a new bridge.

[UberXY]

I've been going to Avon, NC for 45 years. That island is in such a precarious position that each year I wonder if it will be my last chance.

[RAMBLIN RED]

I married a "Virginia blue blood" who also has roots in Pink Hill, NC. The Outer Banks are summer in this part of the world. In her family it is a tradition that is over a century old. I know it stinks for the OBX folks, hopefully they can now expedite the process and get you all a new bridge.

 

I'm afraid we are held hostage by the environmental people who have proven by their actions to have little regard for the lives of permanent residents. Their rallying cry seems to be BIRDS UBER ALLES

[mickeym3]

We rode Hwy 12 for the first time last spring and I was struck by the precarious position that land owners are in out there. Sorry to be callous but eventually the ocean will win the war...Mother Nature is one persistent lady. Meanwhile I wish all the locals well in hanging on to a true tradition as long as possible, hopefully a wealthy benefactor will step forward.

[RAMBLIN RED]

The ocean will win. With rising sea levels maybe sooner than later. But we have fought the fight since we came to this place. My grand parents had a large hole in the corner of each room plugged with a bung. When the tide came in they would unplug the holes to sink the bottom floor and move upstairs. That way the house stayed on its foundation.....tough people.

[RAMBLIN RED]

If you care to sign a petition directed to the SELC (Southern Environmental Law Center) about their 20 year blockage of the Bonner Bridge you can go to change.org and type bonner bridge in the search function. The residents of Hatteras Island will truly appreciate you. If you can't....we love ya anyway.

[RAMBLIN RED]

The dredge Alaska has pumped 30000 cubic yards of sand under and around the threatened pilings on Bonner Bridge, and re-inforced that sand in a way that you engineers may understand. Bottom line, the bridge just opened today. We all know that it is a temporary fix but for now...HOORAY!!!!!!