Ferry Division, Waterways Commission work to establish new route for ferry traffic in Hatteras Inlet

Faced with increasingly dangerous conditions in Sloop Channel, the North Carolina Ferry Division has sought an emergency declaration to address safety for ferry traffic in Hatteras Inlet. Now it appears likely the Army Corps of Engineers will soon be able to provide the necessary work.

“We heard you loud and clear,” Bob Keistler, Army Corps of Engineers Chief of Civil Works Programs and Project Management at the Wilmington district, told the Dare County Waterways Commission at its Monday, January 8, meeting in Manteo.

Although he said that he expects that the Corps will have authorization to widen the pinched area by Barney Slough before month’s end, there are still questions about what other work the permit will require, such as a submerged aquatic vegetation survey or soil samples.

But Keistler, who was speaking remotely, said an emergency declaration would allow the Corps to dredge an alternate channel while additional permit requirements were being completed, similar to what was granted last year for Oregon Inlet.

“I would argue it’s kind of the same thing,” he said.

An emergency declaration in August 2022 authorized the Corps to dredge a new channel under the Basnight Bridge in Oregon Inlet while it completed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.

Shoaling in Barney Slough, aggravated by recent storms, has shifted Sloop Channel to the southwest and significantly narrowed the navigation route, Dare County Manager Bobby Outten wrote in a recent letter to Col. Brad Morgan, the Corps’ Wilmington District commander.

“Over the last several months, multiple private vessels and ferries have grounded,” he wrote, “causing significant damage and endangering passengers.” The channel had narrowed to the point that two vessels could not go through at the same time, he added, forcing oncoming vessels to wait until the other vessel had passed.

The Ferry Division has reported that the ferries sustained more than $1 million in damages from grounding, and ferry traffic on the route had to be reduced to a two-boat schedule, creating a severe limitation in the number of trips.

The Hatteras-Ocracoke ferries began using the passenger ferry route in Rollinson Channel on Dec. 7, but it adds about 20 minutes to the crossing time, as well as additional fuel costs.

“We’ve just reached the point, looking at the survey, it’s unsustainable for us,” interim North Carolina Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon told the commission, referring to the need for an alternate to Sloop. “We’ve got to have it.”

Considering the constant start-stop involved with the ferries sitting while the other ferry transited the narrowed channel, the longer route the ferries use now may be consuming more fuel, but it’s taking about the same time, he said. The Ferry Division, he added, is “anxious” to get the new channel as soon as possible.

“It’s just important to everyone to get that open,” he said. “It’s just going to be better all around.”

With approval of the emergency declaration, the Corps would bypass the problem area by dredging an alternate route that has opened naturally northeast of the current channel, essentially providing a straight shot to South Dock. The route would be shorter in time and distance for the ferries.

Ken Willson, Dare County dredge projects consultant with Coastal Planning & Engineering of North Carolina, (also speaking to the commissioners remotely), explained that even though the recently authorized Hatteras Inlet realignment allows the Corps to follow best water and work within much of navigable inlet, the corridor that was drawn did not include the proposed alternate route.

It would take about nine months for the Corps to complete the NEPA process, he said. With the Corps’ authorization, the state dredge Miss Katie, which is based in Dare County, is expected to be able to work in the corridor under a permit modification that would also include the ocean bar.

The Miss Katie has secured the state permits to work in the re-aligned inlet and will likely have the federal permits later this month. At that point, the county and the Corps will nail down details on the extent of Miss Katie’s authority to work in the inlet, and identify additional disposal areas for dredge material. Meanwhile, NCDOT and Dare County are discussing an agreement that would allow the Ferry Division to operate under Dare County’s permit to use Miss Katie.

“It’s like marbles in a washing machine with all this stuff,” commented commissioner Danny Couch.

In other news, Patrick Gallant, U.S. Coast Guard Officer in Charge at the Aids to Navigation unit in Wanchese, told the commission that details about extinguishing the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse beacon during its upcoming restoration are still being worked out, but he said that the light could be off for a long period of time. The Coast Guard would provide Notice to Mariners several weeks before the light was turned off in preparation for its removal.

In a later interview, Dave Hallac, superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, said that the current plan is that the contractor will remove the light in April or May. Then an LED bulb will be installed to replace it temporarily. The light won’t rotate, and it will be smaller than the incandescent bulb in the lantern room now. The beam will also reach about 14 nautical miles rather than the current 20 miles.

“It’ll take about a month to do that,” Hallac said. “That will continue to provide a light source at night.”

When the lighthouse work is completed and the lens is ready to be switched out — likely June or July 2025 — the replica Fresnel lens that will be installed will have a different LED light, he said. The beacon will be expected to be dark for about a month or two while the lights are changed.

Once the beacon is turned back on, it will rotate on a new modern motorized mechanism rather than the original chariot wheel system, Hallac said. And its beam will again be visible from about 20 nautical miles.

The next Dare County Waterways Commission meeting is scheduled for February 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the Fessenden Center Annex building in Buxton.