Readers have been voting on a name for our temporary bridge on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge for a week now. We?ve had comments on the blog and Facebook page and in e-mails ? in addition to folks telling me what they think when I am traveling around.
Our Island Free Press panel, mostly folks who have been involved with coverage of Hurricane Irene, have reviewed the names and weighed in, and we have chosen two finalists.
They are:
New, New Inlet Bridge ? and New, New Inlet
Pea Island Bridge ? and Pea Island Inlet
We?ve had many suggestions.
Some were obvious such as Irene Bridge.
Some were clever and whimsical, such as Erector Set Bridge, Tinker Toy Bridge, Bridgette, Bridgelet, and a favorite of a few on our panel, Split Pea Bridge.
Some were more uplifting or spiritual, drawing on the resilience of the islanders and the symbolism of making the island whole again. Some of these included Resilience Bridge, Resolution Bridge, Survival Bridge, Together Again Bridge, Blessings Bridge, and Courage Bridge.
Pea Island Pass also caught the attention of one of our panelists.
However, when we got to thinking about it, only two seem like good candidates for a bridge that will be with us for some years and that we will be talking about and writing about often.
Clever and whimsical names might wear out their welcome if this bridge is around for a decade or so.
So, here are our thoughts on the two finalists.
I didn?t think that the name New New Inlet was catching on very well, but I think I may have been wrong. More folks like the name than I thought.
And, if it?s the New New Inlet, why not the New New Inlet Bridge?
Of course, that name comes from the fact that the temporary bridge is just a quarter mile or so north of the site of New Inlet, formed in the 1933 hurricane. You can still see the remnants of that bridge on the soundside of Highway 12. And that inlet eventually filled naturally.
So, the New, New Inlet name has historical and geographical meaning.
It?s also quizzical and funny at the same time, one of our panelists noted.
?We have the ?Great Bridge Bridge,? replaced by the ?Great Great Bridge Bridge? in Chesapeake. I think the ?New New Inlet Bridge? has a certain ring to it,? wrote reader Jeanie Wright.
?Since there was an old bridge in the area of New Inlet, and the new breach is New New Inlet. Then obviously the temporary bridge should be named ?The New, New New Inlet Bridge,?? another reader commented.
One of our panelists is particularly partial to Pea Island Bridge over Pea Island Inlet. It is geographically correct.
?The Pea Island Inlet and the Pea Island Bridge,? said reader Christy Rager. ?That is what we refer to it as, and everyone seems to ?get it.??
So our two nominees are New New Inlet Bridge and Pea Island Bridge.
We think they have staying power and people will ?get it.?
Let us know which you would like to see by posting comments on my blog or on the Island Free Press Facebook page or by e-mailing editor@islandfreepress.org.
We will choose a winner early next week.
When I wrote last week?s blog, I had not been to the temporary bridge yet. So my Lab, Daisy, and I made a road trip over the weekend.
It isn?t all that ugly, more on the ?cute? side, I?d say.
Best of all, it works quite well. It gets us to the other side.
I agree with reader Carol Busbey, who wrote, ?I like the look of the new bridge as it reminds me of older times in coastal areas of places we?ve traveled in the U.S.?
I think she?s right. It reminds me also of coastal bridges in my younger days ? no fuss deals that got you to the other side, long before the time of big high-rise structures that now take us to the coast in most places.
REMINDER
The Island Free Press Survey: Hurricane Irene Response will end on Sunday, Oct. 23. You can still fill out the survey form until then when we will take it offline and begin the process of seeing what you told us about the preparation for and response to the storm.
As of this afternoon, 2,168 residents, off-island property owners, and visitors had responded. And you still have time to tell us what you think.
Click here to go directly to the survey.
