The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1955-08-05

FERRY INADEQUACY
RAPID GROWTH OF
TRAFFIC FACTORS

Rapid growth of traffic across
Oregon Inlet now leads to predic-
lions of early construction of a
highway bridge at this point. Some
well-informed people predict the
bridge will be built in three years.
The more conservative say it will
take longer.
Hon. Lindsay C. Warren of
Washington, N. C. is one of the
conservatives. Mr.. Warren believes
the bridging of this, inlet may be
expected in five years. Usually Mr..
Warren has predicted pretty ac-
curately about the outcome of
things, in this section. To Mr..
Warren goes the credit for having
been for 80 years, just about the
most effectively helpful friend of
the coastland. He fathered the
Kill Devil Hills memorial project,
and many other things, including
the legislation that made possible
the development of the Lost Colony
the Cape Hatteras National Sea-
shore Area. His influence develop
ed projects in sand fixation, and
caused the expenditure of millions
for the improvement and protection
of our coast, and which came dur
ing the depression years in the
mid thirties, when employment
thereby proved life-saver for so
many of our people.
It's the wide advertising given
the area by the National Park
Service, or resulting from the Park
services activities, and the boost
ing done by the County tourist bu-
reau, all of it growing out of tour
list business that is going to force
the bridging of Oregon Inlet. Five
years sounds mighty good, and
while some are eager to see it
bridged this week or this month,
reasonable people realize that these
things don't happen overnight.
The fight for the bridging of
Croatan Sound took 20 years; it
took lot of money, a lot of time,
a lot of work 1t took the ablest and
united leadership of many counties
to finally sell the worth of the idea
to the State and to the Governor.
The advertising resulting from this
long battle created lot of traffic
in the area to be served by the
bridge, but FINALLY the inadequacy
of ferries proved a convincing
argument.
| If ferry boats proved inadequate
over Croatan Sound, then the sit
uation is much worse at Oregon
Inlet where traffic is doubly heavy
on the more frequent schedules
now operated. Three converted
! Navy craft are in service and a
fourth is under reconversion in
Norfolk. But all these boats are
ten or more years old, and were
not designed for long lasting pur-
poses. In the next five years, they
may all well be out of commission
by reason of age. In the next five
I | JCoIoy IIO Ill 1llC OSHldLtu
be ten or 20 times greater than to-
day. And there will be no more
free Navy boats to convert into
ferries.
One may easily predict without
much imagination, that the con-
struction of new boats to handle
this traffic would run into millions
of dollars. A bridge is the only
answer, and bridge it will have
to be before five years run out, or
there is going to be a tremendous
bottleneck of traffic.
Citizens of Hatteras Island are
: generally very anxious for bridge.
: They make repeated appeals
to various county and state Off
) Gals at all levels. Harrassed 9TH
: Gals try to find excuses to stave
: them off, sometimes to give them
!, the "runaround."
r See INLET, Page Five