Scaffolding around Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is 95% complete; Temporary beacon will be installed soon

Despite multiple storms over the past few weeks, there have been waves of progress on the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse restoration project, starting with the tower of scaffolding.

“We are closing in on 95% complete, so we expect to be done with the outside [scaffolding] by the end of April,” said Ed Milch, General Superintendent for the project’s contractor, Stone and Lime Historic Restoration Services.

“We had historic rainfall for the month of March, but we’ve created conditions to work around the weather… It’s just part of the [overall] challenge.”

Scaffolding started to be installed on February 19, and since then, subcontractor Scaffold Resource has added an average of two scaffolding levels a day over the past seven weeks. When the tower is complete, it will stand 200 feet tall, with a platform on top that is just a few feet higher than the top of the lighthouse.

The scaffolding has been the most noticeable progress in the last few weeks, but there have been a number of less visible and behind-the-scenes tasks that have been completed as well.

In the past week, paving has begun on the circular path that connects the Visitors Center with the lighthouse, providing an easier way to explore the site without causing wear and tear on the landscape.

Right now, most of the grounds surrounding the lighthouse are closed as crews carve out the pathway and pour concrete, but the goal is to open the area before the summer arrives.

“We’d like to get most of the pathway done before the summer, so that visitors can use the new path, and have more access to the site” said Lindsey Gravel, Site Quality Control Manager for Stone and Lime.

In the weeks ahead, another big milestone will be reached when the current 1950s-era beacon will be replaced with a temporary LED lens that is small in stature, but which will be visible from miles away. (In fact, the new lens is identical to the one that is permanently installed at the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.)

“This tiny beacon can project 18 miles out into the ocean, it’s U.S. Coast Guard approved, and it goes on about every seven and a half seconds – just a quick flash on, and a quick flash off,” said Kelly Clark, Project Manager for Stone and Lime. “So, this is what we’ll be using for the next 18 months until the brand new Fresnel lens replica is complete.”

The temporary light is scheduled to be installed at the end of April, and there may be a day or two when the lighthouse goes dark while the transition is taking place.

Meanwhile, a replica of the original first-order Fresnel lens is being constructed by subcontractor and specialist Artworks Florida, with a fabricated pedestal, working clockwork, a replica counterweight system, and a host of individual prisms.

In addition, paint-stripping mock-ups are underway so that paint removal for the interior and exterior of the lighthouse can begin in earnest once the scaffolding is complete. A replica brick path is in the early stages of being built, (which will complement the sand-colored concrete pathways), and Allen Architectural Metals has also been on site to survey and document existing ironwork and other metalwork conditions.

This flurry of recent activity is just a portion of the extensive restoration work that is expected to last a total of 18 months.

Though the construction has clearly begun in earnest, the lighthouse restoration project has been in the works for years, with public hearings and proposals initially held in 2021 to identify the best paths forward.

The items that need to be addressed stem from the results of a 2014 Comprehensive Condition Assessment Report and a 2016 Historic Structure Report, and the National Park Service has had funding for the massive $19.2 million project in reserve for years.

Additional items that will be addressed in the restoration include landscape enhancements, the replacement of approximately 40,000 bricks, (an estimated 15% of the total bricks in the lighthouse), and the installation of a new entrance connecting the parking lot to the Visitors Center.

Also, when the painting, repairs, and new lens installation are complete, at some point, the tower of scaffolding will naturally come down, but that likely won’t occur for at least a year.

Stakeholders, (including Stone and Lime Construction and the National Park Service), are hopeful that despite any future weather-related challenges, the lighthouse will officially reopen to visitors in the summer of 2025.

But for now, a new phase of restoration work – including a new lens – is about to begin as the initial stages of preparation wind down.

“We’re ecstatic to be working on the project,” said Clark. “You know, we have a lot of experience with 19th-century masonry structures, but I think it might be fair to say that this is probably one of the most iconic and locally embedded structures that we’ve ever worked on.”

What to expect in the months ahead

• The lighthouse will go dark for 1-2 days, (likely at the end of the month), to replace the current beacon with the temporary light that complies with U.S. Coast Guard regulations. Mariners will be notified when the transition occurs.
• The lighthouse site will remain open to the public for the duration of the project, although there will be marked-off areas on the grounds where construction activities are ongoing.
• The lighthouse will NOT be open for climbing in the summer of 2024, but will hopefully reopen for the 2026 summertime season. Once the lighthouse does open for climbing, tickets will only be available electronically, similar to the current Bodie Island Lighthouse ticket-purchasing system.
• The public can keep tabs on the progress and details of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse restoration project on the CHNS website.