The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1957-04-19
FORMAL DEDICATION OF BRIDGE
ACROSS CROATAN SOUND TO BE
OPENING EVENT OF JAMBOREE
MAINS Harbor Celebration Next Thursday
Touches Off Four Days Of Celebration and
Fes+ivity in Dare County, Embracing Coast
From Kitty Hawk to Ha+teras. Four Days of
Superb Entertainment Promised.

April 1928, will be formal dedica-
ton ceremonies for the new three
mile long Croatan Sound Bridge
between Manns Harbor and Man
teo.
The bridge ceremony dedicating
the new bridge to the late Gov
ernor William B. Umstead will be
sponsored by the Southern Abe
marie Association. The dedication
will be held at IL am, April 25.
The ceremonies at Manns Har-
Dor are expected to get underway
promptly at IL am. and will be
followed by a dinner served on the
grounds of the Manns Harbor
School. Melvin R. Daniels of Wan
cheese, President of the Southern
Albemarle Association, is general
chairman of the bridge celebration
committee and will preside on this
occasion. Nh. Daniels has been
patiently working on organizing
this celebration, and raising the
money to pay for it's various fet-
lures and the big free dinner to
serve the visitors.
No small engineering feat, ire
bridge was under construction for
over two years. The location for
the bridge was made under the
direction of photographic Engi-
neer w. S. Winslow during the
winter of 1953-1954. After the loca-
ton had been decided upon, the
Bridge Department under Chief
Bridge Engineer T. B. Gunter Jr..
and his assistants, L. 3. Dill ard
and George Parkin, prepared the
construction plans.
The job was advertised for bids
in the highway letting of Septem-
her z, 1854. T. A. Loving and Com
pany of Goldsboro was the low
bidder. Construction started Sep
tember %.
Veteran Builder
A veteran bridge builder. E. H.
Baggs of Manteo, along with r.
man construction party was as
signed as resident engineer on the
project. Loving's personnel in
cluded G. B. Trimble and Larry
McDade, Superintendent, plus six
foremen.
Concrete piles, ranging in length
from 80 to 81 feet, We're pre-cast
in a casting yard near Manteo.
The pre-cast piles We're then fer
ried out to the construction site
where they were driven and then
topped by concrete caps.
Building the 14,265-foot long
bridge required two 4O-foot long
spans; 278 of the 421s foot long
spans, SO of the 70-foot spans; and
the 130-foot long navigation span
which has a 45-foot high vertical
clearance and an 8O-foot wide
horizontal clearance for passage of
boats.
Quantities for the bridge includ-
ed 1867 cubic yards of concrete.
5,887,78O pounds of reinforcing
steel; 6,735,700 pounds of struc-
tural steel; 66,146 lineal feet of
20-foot octagonal pre-cast concrete
piles. Tenders were built to pro-
tect the foundation caps of the
channel navigational span.
The bridge has 24-foot wide
clear concrete roadway with con-
crete rails.
In May, 1856, while the bridge
was still under construction, fire
of unknown origin broke out early
one morning and damaged 26 areas
of concrete, ranging in size from
six inches to 81 X 9-feet, which
had to be removed and patched.
As if that weren't enough, in
August, 1856. lightning struck the
portable field office for engineer
ing personnel and slightly injured
two Of the highway engineers and
two of the contractors men, as
well as destroying two levels and
two transits, which were used in
surveying.
Work was completed February
%, 1867, just one day short of the
450-day working limit. Just six
days after the bridge was Off
cially accepted from the contrac-I
tor by the State for maintenance
under Chief Bridge Maintenance
Engineer C. B. Taylor, 147-foot
leng freight boat rammed the
bridge on the north side during a
heavy rain storm.
Traffic is still using the bridge
in safety despite the extensive
damage. Thorough the damaged
section, traffic is one-way. There
is not enough time for the repairs
to be completed before the bridge
is formally dedicated April %, as
the William B. Umstead Memorial
Bridge.
Before the freight boat damage,
the Croatan Sound Bridge cost
$2,649, 123.88, including the COM
See DEDICATION, Page Four