Debate continues over NC Highway 12
RALEIGH (Winston-Salem Journal) - There is probably no other road like it in America.
N.C. 12, a thin strip of asphalt on top of sand, bends into the Atlantic Ocean, connecting most of the Outer Banks with the mainland. It floods easily and washes away during hurricanes, leaving some to question whether it is worth pouring millions of dollars of repairs into such a vulnerable road. Some have suggested building a long bridge instead.
Hurricane Irene took several big bites out of the highway, including one chunk nearly 160 feet long.
"It's a love-hate relationship, really," Kurt Kessler, who lives on Hatteras Island, said on a Facebook chat because he didn't have either cellphone or landline service after Irene hit almost a week ago. He said that "12 is our main artery, and we want to protect it. But again, we hate that we rely so heavily on it. This is one of those times you hate the fragile nature of Highway 12, but what are you going to do, you know? It comes with the territory."
N.C. 12, a thin strip of asphalt on top of sand, bends into the Atlantic Ocean, connecting most of the Outer Banks with the mainland. It floods easily and washes away during hurricanes, leaving some to question whether it is worth pouring millions of dollars of repairs into such a vulnerable road. Some have suggested building a long bridge instead.
Hurricane Irene took several big bites out of the highway, including one chunk nearly 160 feet long.
"It's a love-hate relationship, really," Kurt Kessler, who lives on Hatteras Island, said on a Facebook chat because he didn't have either cellphone or landline service after Irene hit almost a week ago. He said that "12 is our main artery, and we want to protect it. But again, we hate that we rely so heavily on it. This is one of those times you hate the fragile nature of Highway 12, but what are you going to do, you know? It comes with the territory."
posted by BP News Bureau | 12:06 PM
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