The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1955-11-11
CONSTRUCTION ON
A COSTLY SCENIC
HIGHWAY TO BEGIN
Expense Of Filling in and Building
Road Now Estimated at
100000; Benefits
Much Land.

thirty-ton bulldozer to blaze a
trail for him, Thomas M. Moran,
principal highway engineer, East
ern Office of Design and Construc-
ton, got underway this week on
the preliminary survey on what
will become, by next spring, one
of the scenic wonders of the Outer
Banks, road deriving from the
imagination of Conrad Wirth, di-
rector of the National Park Serv-
ice and which became an immediate
necessity when the present road
leading past the Lighthouse and
toward the Point of the Cape was
taken over by the Navy Depart
ment as an access to its super
secret Navy facility.
Long, sweeping curves that cross
five marshes and four wooded
ridges will take the new highway
west Of the Navy's installation and
when the road breasts the last
ridge those who use it will come
suddenly upon the expanse of the
ocean, with the point of Cape Hat
teras on the left and the lifting
tower on the Lighthouse on the
right. The plan for the road has
been in the Directors mind since
his visit to Cape Hatteras three
years ago when he came for the
first time with the area as a part
of his domain.
Since the finished road will cost
upwards of three quarters of a
million dollars, which amounts to
nearly three times the present an
nual budget for the Cape Hatteras
National Seashore, there was little
immediate hope of the road becom-
ing reality until the Navy De-
partment moved in with a detach-
ment of Seabees and started work,
Now they have finished with their
job, and their grading machinery
is on a standby status a good part
of the time. With that idea in his
mind, Mr. Wirth began negotia-
tions last summer to. get the Sea-
bees to lend hand with the new
road.
Some delay in the beginning of
survey and construction was occa-
stoned by confusion as to the title
of some of the land over which
the road will run. These Difficult
ties were solved last week and
Mr.. Moran arrived on Monday to
assemble his crew and put them
to work.
Most of the site of the road runs
across virgin wilderness and Mr.
Moran was promptly up to his
middle in a morass of sedge di-
rectly in front of the l.. d. Midget
home. To solve this difficulty
Lieut.. James r. Buck, commanding
officer of the Seabees, dispatched
Driver Whey with bulldozer and
by nightfall of the first day the
survey had crossed the first sedge
and the first ridge, with Whey
wallowing his monstrous earth
mover through swamps very like
hippopotamous.
Here with Mr.. Moran is J. c.
McCabe, who was here some
months back engaged in land sur,
veys and as their instrument mer
they have Seymour Gray ano
James Gray, of the local Park
staff. Lending able hands are also
Surveyor Thomas Shumate and
Bob Stapleton, Of the Seabee staff
Shumate and McCabe are both
alumni of V.P.I. at Blacksburg.
Virginia.
Mr.. Moran and his crew expect
to complete the preliminary sur
vey by the end of the week and
after brief interlude laying out
a parking lot at Fort Raleigh, they
will return to complete the pro-
files. Lieutenant Buck said yester-
day that his crew of earth-movers,
headed by Spud Whittle, who
drives the Navy's biggest drag
line, will be ready for almost con-
tinuous operation until the task is
complete. Whittle left Wednesday
on leave of absence at his home
in Lewistown, Maine.
Altogether the grading will in
volve an estimated 100000 cubic
yards of earth. When this is COM
pleted the Park Service will con-
tract the 24-foot paving for the
road and if all goes well, the be-
ginning of summer should find the
new road ready for use.. - Ben
Dixon MacNeill