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Hatteras to get another new bridge ... this one sucks.

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jakemoore
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Re: Hatteras to get another new bridge......this one sucks.

Postby jakemoore » Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:45 am

How can this jug handle bridge possibly be better for the birds or anything or anyone compared to building where the current highway is? Why does our government do such stupid stuff.

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Re: Hatteras to get another new bridge......this one sucks.

Postby FLandOBX » Wed Jul 18, 2018 12:31 pm

Jakemoore, if you've spent extended time on Hatteras Island, you'll know that the current highway gets washed out and closed all the time. Continuing to pour tax dollars into maintaining a highway location that won't last is not logical. The new bridge and causeway will provide reliable access to Hatteras (which the old bridge and highway have not) and will require less maintenance and tax dollars to preserve.

I know you're disappointed to lose the kiting access around Mirlo Beach, but Hatteras Island is 50 miles long. There are dozens of other great kiting locations on the island. Sometimes change is uncomfortable, but the new bridge and causeway will be a huge improvement in the long run for Hatteras residents and tourists, as well as taxpayers who never even venture to the island.

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Re: Hatteras to get another new bridge......this one sucks.

Postby rmaxwell » Wed Jul 18, 2018 1:13 pm

I have spent extended time on the Outer Banks and there are better alternatives than to build a jug handle bridge in the sound. An elevated roadway near the existing road would be cheaper and cause less overall environmental damage. The outside environmental groups don't want a road through Pea Island, but I think putting a bridge through the sound is much more destructive. I have even seen studies that show that beach nourishment on an ongoing basis is much cheaper than building a 200 million dollar bridge in the sound.

I don't own a house in Mirlo Beach, but people who favor the Jug Handle might feel differently if they owned a sound front house in Mirlo that will probably lose 50% of its value after a bridge goes up in front of their house.

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Re: Hatteras to get another new bridge......this one sucks.

Postby FLandOBX » Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:38 pm

Owning a house on Hatteras Island is a risk no matter where it's located. The next hurricane could eliminate 100% of value. We can't change the natural progression of the oceans......witness the houses in Mirlo that have been relocated or condemned or already fallen into the sea. It's useful to read work by people like Orrin Pilkey (Professor Emeritus of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University) who have studied the Outer Banks for years. The islands' natural migration is westerly, and no amount of sand pumped into S-turns or Hwy 12 north of Rodanthe is going to change that fact. In the long run, the new bridge will benefit all stakeholders, including visiting kiteboarders, if only because access will be dependable and long term costs will be less.

But the bottom line with the new bridge and causeway is that it's finally happening, whether or not we agree with the design. So the best thing for everyone is to plan accordingly. I will kite at locations all over Hatteras Island, as always, and will access the flats adjacent to Mirlo by jet ski if I want to kite there. If that plan doesn't work for others, there are many other excellent kiting locations around the world that may suit better. Let's move on.

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Re: Hatteras to get another new bridge......this one sucks.

Postby pj sofine » Wed Jul 18, 2018 2:48 pm

I wonder if home owners in in the "jug handle" receive any compensation? :cash:

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Re: Hatteras to get another new bridge......this one sucks.

Postby grigorib » Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:56 pm

We just need a huge campground or bigger SDA with grass or sand to launch and ride the sound. Kiters’ paradise which is not possible because every tiny piece of wetlands which stretch for 50 miles is protected and no preservation regulations would not allow to make a quarter mile long lawn/beach.

Anyone explored Naggs Head launch/riding options?

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Re: Hatteras to get another new bridge......this one sucks.

Postby POACHER » Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:50 pm

Yeah if anyone that lives in Rodathe/Waves can keep us updated on the construction that would be great. We're kicking around the idea of a last minute fall trip to Rodanthe if we can pull it off before the bridge goes in!
Thanks in advance.

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Re: Hatteras to get another new bridge......this one sucks.

Postby FLandOBX » Thu Jul 19, 2018 9:22 pm

grigorib wrote:
Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:56 pm
Anyone explored Naggs Head launch/riding options?
Nags Head/KDH areas have good kiting on ocean and sound. The old Windmill Point site (now the event center - roughly MP 16.5) is still accessible and kiting is good on S, SW, N and NW wind directions. Best soundside riding on SE wind (also S and SW) is Jockey's Ridge (south of and behind the dune) - access to parking and launch is the first road south of the dune (and south of Kitty Hawk Kites). If you launch here, make sure you read the signs directing kiters to the north end of the beach (families, kids, dogs, etc. are at the south end). Also pay attention to parking area closing times.

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FLandOBX
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Re: Hatteras to get another new bridge......this one sucks.

Postby FLandOBX » Thu Jul 19, 2018 9:31 pm

POACHER wrote:
Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:50 pm
Yeah if anyone that lives in Rodathe/Waves can keep us updated on the construction that would be great. We're kicking around the idea of a last minute fall trip to Rodanthe if we can pull it off before the bridge goes in!
Thanks in advance.
Poacher, my advice is to plan that trip. The bridge isn't going to disrupt 99% of the kiting locations on Hatteras Island. If you absolutely have to rent a soundfront cottage in Mirlo Beach, then check with your realty company. I drove through that area this morning, and there isn't any disruption evident at the moment. Best bet for soundfront rentals would be anything south of the Rodanthe Community Center (the emergency ferry docks).......that's a lot of soundfront cottages in Tri-Villages, Avon, Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras. Honestly, unless you are insistent on being in Mirlo (north of Liberty), the bridge will be a non-issue. Caveat: At present, you will likely encounter some minor traffic delays (one lane traffic) as you come onto the island at Oregon Inlet due to Bonner Bridge replacement construction.

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Re: Hatteras to get another new bridge ... this one sucks.

Postby POACHER » Thu Jul 19, 2018 10:35 pm

Thanks FL&OBX.

I do really want to stay in that Mirlo area. Cross of Honor Way to be exact. This may sound kind of silly, but I've been staying there every fall since I (we) learned to kite in '02. I'd love to rent one of the houses on the sound one more time before that spot closes forever. That stretch is pretty special to me (us!). I think we've rented every house on the block at least once. Also 15 years of kiting there past dark, Liberty Mart beer/ice cream runs, epic downwinders, pestering the Real/Kitty Hawk crew on no wind days and even spending one last session with a friend there before he passed from cancer a month later.......it makes me really want to give that spot one last go.

Some of our crew have bailed on Hatteras already and hitting the Caribbean instead. (which is also awesome) But I'll always love the OBX.


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