Busy Outer Banks road due for a facelift
The Virginian-Pilot
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KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C.
A busy Outer Banks road that winds past flood-prone waters in the shadow of the Wright Brothers National Memorial will get resurfaced, widened and lifted in places.
Colington Road runs 4.3 miles from U.S. 158 next to the memorial past Colington Creek and Blount Bay before ending at the tip of the island on Kitty Hawk Bay. The scenic views are great, until the wind whips up and waves splash onto the pavement, or heavy rain pools deep across the center line.
"It can be dangerous," said Jocelyn Midgette, who manages Joe and Kay's Campground with her husband.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation held a public meeting Thursday on the $17.4 million project in Kill Devil Hills. Dozens attended the meeting to peer at large maps and question highway officials. The work includes widening the two-lane route, lifting the pavement in low spots and adding paved paths for cyclists and pedestrians.
The state plans to have more public meetings and acquire the land needed for widening the road in 2017. Construction is planned to begin and likely wrap up in 2018.
The state also plans to straighten a curve in the road near the intersection with Sandpiper Drive.
But a straighter road means more speeding, said resident Phil Kadala.
"That curve is not so bad if it slows people down," he said.
The road passes a mix of mobile homes and high-dollar houses. Popular stops along the way include Billy's Seafood and The Colington Cafe. In places, marsh grasses grow near the pavement. Locals and tourists fish and crab within sight of the zooming cars.
Despite the rural character, more than 12,000 vehicles a day on average travel the narrow route. The state added large rocks known as rip rap to the shoreline years ago, helping keep the water back. Two new bridges were built in the 1990s, and some sections of pavement were raised later. Two years ago, crews rerouted the road to remove a sharp loop around a church.
Still, floodwaters breach the improvements at times. When the lane nearest the water submerges, drivers typically wait their turn to pass. Some take the risk of stalling out.
"I've driven through when I probably shouldn't have, just because I wanted to go home," said Colington Harbor resident Martha Cain.
Jeff Hampton, 252-338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com
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