Completion of Wright Memorial Bridge resurfacing is in sight

By Sam Walker on March 24, 2015

Crews are on the home stretch of the project. 

While it’s taken longer than anyone would like, the resurfacing of the westbound Wright Memorial Bridge is finally nearing completion after two long off-seasons of two-way traffic between Kitty Hawk and Point Harbor.
A special latex-modified concrete overlay has been placed on 222 of the 249 spans of the 3.1-mile-long bridge, according to N.C. Department of Transportation spokesperson Jennifer Heiss.
“Weather permitting, we should have the work complete by May 15,” Heiss said. “Should work not be complete by that date, the bridge would still open to traffic by May 15.”
Workers returned to the project in early March and started pouring the latex-modified concrete overlay onto the remaining sections of bridge deck last week.
The special mixture could only be applied when temperatures were between 50 and 85 degrees, surface temperatures were between 40 and 85 degrees and wind speeds were no more than 10 mph.
In addition, 182 of the 249 seals that allow the bridge to expand and contract with the weather have been completed, according to Heiss.
G.A. & F.C. Wagman Inc. of York, Pa. was able to finish two-thirds of the bridge before Memorial Day weekend 2014, but had to return in the fall to finish the $6.3 million project.
Engineers had expected the weather to cause delays before last Memorial Day weekend, and back-to-back-to-back snowfalls in the winter of 2014 led to crews needing another off-season to finish.
The only fines that would be levied against the contractor were $1,000 per day if the bridge could not be opened to traffic before Memorial Day weekend because of the expectation that it could take longer than one off-season to complete the resurfacing.
The bridge reopened to traffic on May 12 of last year, but was closed again on Sept. 14.
Progress was being made this fall and the start of winter thanks to relatively mild temperatures and low winds, but came to a halt just before the holidays.
“The schedule is tight due to the cold winter temperatures we had from Christmas until just a few weeks ago and the temperature/wind dependent nature of the materials being used,” Heiss said.
When the westbound bridge was built in 1995, the supports of the deck did not bend as expected after the concrete road deck was poured on top.
The road deck between each bent, which is the combination of pilings that supports the bridge, had a more pronounced “hump” causing a bouncy ride.
A similar issue developed on other spans in the region around the same time, including the Washington Baum Bridge over Roanoke Sound, but not to the severity as on the Wright Memorial Bridge.

COMPLETE STORYhttp://outerbanksvoice.com/2015/03/24/completion-of-wright-memorial-bridge-resurfacing-in-sight/

Exposed wreck believed to be remains of Civil War steamer

" Heavy surf has once again uncovered the remains of a shipwreck near Whalehead that many local residents believe to be part of the 19th century ship called the Metropolis. The portion of the wreck discovered on Thursday near the Albecore off-road vehicle ramp gave onlookers one of the best viewings of the buried wreck since it was first stumbled upon in 1997. The ocean has routinely exposed the wreckage to varying degrees since. “It is definitely more exposed than it has been in the past,” said Dr. Nathan Richard, head of UNC’s Coastal Studies Institute’s Maritime Heritage program. “It’s a big ship and is easily identifiable because there is so much of it still intact. It’s sitting on its keel, and there is a good view of the portside.” The wreck has been identified as the “O’Keefe” wreck by the state’s Underwater Archaeology branch, named after Charles O’Keefe, who first reported the it back in the late 1990s. While the exposed portion has long been believed to be part of the Metropolis shipwreck, Richards said the remains have never been compared against historical records, so it cannot be said for certain what wreck it belongs to. “Until someone does that, the state will keep calling it the O’Keefe,” he added. The expensive process of excavating the wreckage or diagnostically proving its origin makes it difficult to investigate any further, Richards said. “It will likely just fill in again,” he said, Everything from just the backbone of the wreck to the frames of the ship have broken through the sand over the years, giving onlookers a glimpse of the past. While it is not likely to wash away due to its size, Richards said various parts of the wreckage have been tagged in order to track it if it dislodges or drifts. “No one really knows what wreck it is from,” he said, but added that if it is truly the Metropolis, the ship is a significant piece of North Carolina maritime history. An early American steamer, the Metropolis was built in Mystic, Conn. In 1861 and was originally called the USS Stars & Stripes, according to navsource.org, a website dedicated to preserving naval history. The steamer was assigned to the Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Hatteras Inlet during the Civil War and was part of the attacks at Roanoke Island and New Bern in 1862. It was sold commercially after the war and renamed the Metropolis in 1871. It wrecked off the coast of Currituck beach in January of 1878. According to reports, the O’Keefe wreck’s stern is still intact and it includes some buried rigging elements. "       By Michelle Wagner on February 13, 2015      COMPLETE STORY

Residents want N.C. 12 safety path

"In the wake of several fatal accidents in recent years, concerned residents of the Ocean Sands section of Corolla are hoping that Currituck County will complete a proposed bike and pedestrian path before tourist season starts this spring. The proposed path, part of Phase III of the county’s “Connecting Corolla” project, is to run along the east side of N.C. 12 for a distance of about two miles between Food Lion and Harris Teeter.

But there is no guarantee that the permitting process will be completed in time to make the tourist season deadline. And some residents say an impasse over easements with a local developer, the Coastland Corporation, could delay the project and make the path somewhat less safe than hoped. 

Community pressure to complete the bike path increased after the hit-and-run death of Asen Zahariev last August. Zahariev, a 22-year-old student from Bulgaria, was hit and killed on Aug. 25 by a vehicle as he was walking along the shoulder of N.C. Highway 12 in Corolla. Zahariev was in the United States on a J-1 Visa granted by the State Department as part of its Work and Travel Exchange Program. Working in Corolla for the summer at Harris Teeter and Dunkin Donuts, Zahariev was set to return to Bulgaria in September.

“He was known to his friends here as ‘Ace,’” Corolla Civic Association President Barb Marzetti told the Sentinel, “and he was hit right outside the section where I live. I used to see him every day, walking his dog. A memorial was put up right away at the spot in his honor, and it’s still there. We want to raise funds for a memorial bench for Ace and for the Pennsylvania couple who were killed. But most important of all is getting this path built before tourist season comes again. We don’t want to see any more fatalities along this highway.”   ...... "

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Posted: Wednesday, February 11, 2015 12:00 am   NEEL KELLER