19950786 Ver 1_Social Impact Report_19950728

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BRUNSWICK COUNTY
REPLACEMENT OF BRIDGE NO. 198 ON SR 1172
OVER ATLANTIC INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY
AT SUNSET BEACH, NORTH CAROLINA
FEDERAL AID PROJECT NO. BRS-1813(1)
STATE PROJECT N0.8.2230101
TIP NO. B-682
St~~ IAL 1 M PACT
REPORT
Prepared For:
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PLANNING & ENVIRONMENTAL BRANCH
NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
June 1995

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q ~~ ~ ~ Final Report
SUNSET BEACH BRIDGE REPLACEMENT:
SOCIAL IMPACT REPORT
Prepared for:
GREINER, INC.
Prepared by:
HAVES & ASSOCIATES
June 7, 1995
Copyright m 1995 Greiner, Inc.

' TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ,
•
iii

A__. BACK GROUND• P LIC SAFETY PROBLEMS OF CURRENT
S UNSET BEACH BRIDGE 1
1. Vehicul r
a Access
1
2. Boating Access Along the Intracoastal Waterway 8
' 3. January 1985 Barge Collision and Bridge Closure 11
4. March 13, 1993 "Storm of the Century" 14

B~_AFFE CTED ENVIRONMENT• SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES 17
' 1. Churches 17
2. Schools 17
3. Cemeteries .. 18
4. Public and Private Recreational Facilities 18
5. Town Services .. 19
6. Police Services 19
7. Fire Protection 21
' 8. Rescue Services 24
9. Provision of Public Services to the Island and
' Public Safety 25
C. ENVIRONMENTAL C NSEOUENCES 26
1. Relocation or Displacement of Existing Land Uses 26
2. Considerations for Public Safety 26
3. Probable Impact on Neighborhoods by
Bridge-Related Traffic 29
4. Considerations Relating to Pedestrians and
Bicycles
29
5. Community Cohesion 29

APPENDIX
' 1. Addendum: "January 20, 1995 Barge Collision .
with the Sunset Beach Bridge"
2. Letters from Public Safety Officials

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LIST OF TABLBS
1.1: Sunset Beach Bridge Openings, January 1992-
June 1994 2
1.2: Number of Vehicles Waiting to Cross the Bridge,
Sat., June 19 and Sunday, June 20, 1993 3
1.3: Sunset Beach Non-Routine Bridge Closings for Vehicular
Traffic, January 1992 - June 1994 5
1.4: Public Safety Episodes Involving Sunset Beach Bridge,
January 1992 - June 1994 ~,g
1.5: Sunset Beach Bridge Closings for Water Traffic,
January 1992 - June 1994 10
1.6: Boating Emergencies Involving Sunset Beach Bridge,
January 1992 - June 1994 11
1.7: Public School Enrollment of Sunset Beach Residents,
Fall 1993 1~
1.8; Number of Times the Sunset Beach Police Patrol Units
Crossed the Bridge, 6/19/93 - 6/25/93 19
1.9: Sunset Beach Police Department Monthly Call Report, 1992 20
1.10: Sunset Beach Volunteer Fire Department Calls,
January 1992 - July 1993 23
1.11: Calabash Emergency Rescue Calls to Sunset Beach,
January 1991 - July 1993 24
1.12: Average Daily Bridge Openings for Boat Traffic 27
1.1: Location of Peak Traffic Congestion, Summer 1993 3

gXBCUTIVB SUMMARY
This study evaluates the social and public safety impact of the
current bridge and proposed bridge replacement alternatives in Sunset
Beach, North Carolina. The social and public safety implications are
examined from the perspective of the island and mainland residents and _
visitors as well as for boaters along the Intracoastal Waterway.
Numerous interviews were conducted with public safety officials
serving the Sunset Beach community. Data was also collected from the
NCDOT Sunset Beach bridge logs, the Town of Sunset Beach police
reports, the Sunset Beach Volunteer Fire Departments records, and the
Calabash Rescue Squad reports. -
The following is a brief summary of the study's findings:
* FREQUENCY AND LENGTH OF TIME OF BRIDGE OPENINGS. From
January 1992 thru June 1994, the Sunset Beach bridge was
opened 11,103 times. The average bridge opening took 10
minutes. Consequently, during this 2 1/2 year period, the
Sunset Beach bridge was closed to vehicular traffic
approximately 111,030 minutes, or 1,850.5 hours, or 77.1
cumulative days.
* PUBLIC SAFETY PROBLEMS OF CURRENT SUNSET BEACH ONE-LANE
PONTOON BRIDGE. Without exception, all town and public
safety officials who were interviewed regard the current
pontoon bridge to be a major threat to public safety and
urge that a new bridge access be built as soon as possible.
The current pontoon bridge puts the island at risk whenever
access to the island is interrupted by scheduled and non-
scheduled bridge closings. This causes excessive back-up
congestion during bridge closings in the peak summer season
which snarls traffic on the mainland and blocks access to
the Fire Department, Police Station, and Town Hall. The
floating pontoon bridge is also vulnerable to extreme tide
conditions, high winds associated with storms, and lengthy
bridge repairs because of its customized design and age.
* PRECAUTIONS BY PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS. Town, county, and
state officials have attempted to make arrangements to
reduce the fire and safety concerns of the island. However,
there have been several incidents where communication
breakdowns have resulted in the delay of emergency vehicles.
ACCIDENTS, DEATHS, AND PERSONAL INJURIES INVOLVING PONTOON
BRIDGE. Over the past 5 years, there has been an average of
6 traffic accidents a year which have occurred in connection
with bridge openings and traffic congestion. The Calabash
Rescue Squad contends that a 1991 bridge delay resulted in
the death of a cardiac patient. In August 1993 a
speedboater hit the bridge cable during a bridge closing
thereby injuring himself and damaging his boat.

* PUBLIC SAFETY AND BOATING ACCESS ALONG INTRACOASTAL
WATERWAY. The Sunset Beach floating bridge may be unable to
open for boat traffic because of extreme low tides and
' bridge breakdowns and repairs. Some hourly bridge openings
are delayed .because of emergencies on the island. There
have been instances when boating emergencies have existed _
' and it was imperative for the bridge to open on demand.
* 1985 ANGELA M TUGBOAT COLLISION. In January 1985, a tugboat
collided with the Sunset Beach bridge resulting in $147,348
damage which took nearly 5 days to repair. About 150 to 200
day visitors were stranded on the island and special ferry
services had to be provided to the 60 to 75 year-round
' residents. It required an enormous effort to provide
minimal public safety and services during the time the
bridge was out.
' * MARCH 13, 1993 "STORM OF THE CENTURY". With just 5 minutes
notice, the Sunset Beach bridge was closed for vehicular __
traffic for nearly 11 hours. This sudden bridge closure
stranded nearly 100 cars carrying day visitors on the
island. One of those who was stranded was a diabetic
without insulin. This incident reveals the importance of
' accurate weather forecasting for Sunset Beach in order to
provide timely evacuation of the island.
' * CURRENT PONTOON BRIDGE AND POLICE PROTECTION. Police cars
must cross the bridge to provide routine patrols and to
respond to emergency requests. During a summer week, police
cars may cross the bridge nearly 300 times. The Sunset
' Beach Police Chief stated that during the summer, police
cars take at least 2 additional minutes to respond to island
calls. Sometimes island calls are delayed as much as 10 to
' 30 minutes because of bridge openings and traffic
congestion. Two auxiliary police officers are used to
control traffic congestion at the bridge during the summer
' season which cost the Town $25,000 in 1993. On the other
hand, some island residents believe that the bridgetender
and the pontoon bridge itself deters crime since the
bridgetender serves as a "gatekeeper" to the island. Police
officials in Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle, and Holden Beach
contend that dependable bridge access actually improves
police protection and deters crime.
' * CURRENT PONTOON BRIDGE AND FIRE PROTECTION AND RESCUE
SERVICES. The current pontoon bridge diminishes fire
' protection to the island by limiting the type of fire
equipment which can cross the bridge as well as by causing
interruptions in access to the island and increasing
response time to island fires. Ambulances have been delayed
by the bridge and the Calabash Rescue Squad claims that such
delays can result in the deaths of island residents and
visitors.

SOCIAL IMPACT REPORT
A. BACKGROUND: PUBLIC SAFETY PROBLEMS OF CTRRENT SUNSET BEA H BRIDGE
It is beneficial.to define the public safety impact of the
current one-lane pontoon bridge prior to evaluating the impact of _
possible bridge alternatives. One needs to understand the operation
of the one-lane bridge and how routine and unscheduled closures
interrupt vehicular and waterway traffic. These interruptions have a
profound impact upon public safety, both for town residents and
boaters alike. This section also examines how two specific incidents,
the 1985 Barge Collision accident and the March 13, 1993
"Storm of the Century", affected bridge operations and public safety.
1. Vehicular Access
The current bridge connecting the Sunset Beach island to the
mainland across the Intracoastal Waterway is the only vehicular access
available. All bridge closures, whether scheduled or not, __
temporarily isolate the island from emergency services such as police,
rescue, and fire protection services which are now stationed on the
mainland. The frequency and length of the bridge closures has obvious
implications for public safety on the island. The Sunset Beach bridge
is routinely opened for boat traffic. United States Coast Guard
regulations require for the bridge to open on demand for any vessel
that identifies itself as a commercial vessel. Sometimes bridge
openings for commercial vessels are delayed if an emergency exists on
the island in order to allow access for public safety vehicles. The
bridge opens on an hourly basis for pleasure craft from April 1 thru
October 31 and currently opens on demand for pleasure craft from
November thru March. There is some local pressure to change the off-
season policy to bridge openings every 1/2 hour for boat traffic in
order to reduce the frequency of bridge closings for vehicular
traffic .
Table 1.1 shows the frequency of bridge openings between January
1992 and June 1994. From January 1992 thru June 1994, the Sunset
Beach bridge was opened 11,103 times. The average bridge opening took
10 minutes. Consequently, during this 2 1/2 year period, the Sunset
Beach bridge was closed to vehicular traffic approximately 111,030
minutes, or 1,850.5 hours, or 77.1 cumulative days. Moreover, at
least 102 of these bridge openings took 20 minutes or longer because
of tide conditions (20 incidents), slow moving boat traffic (53
incidents), or bridge repair or maintenance (29 incidents).

' TABLE 1 1- SUNSET BEACIi BRIDGB OPENING JANUARY 1992 1994
BRIDGE OPENINGS WHICH TOO K 20 MIN UTES OR LONGER
' REASON
FOR
DELAY/CLOSUR.E*
--
---- ---
-
- ----- ---- TOTAL
TIDE BOAT BRIDGE SUB- BRIDGE
MONTH/YEAR CONDITI ONS TRAFFIC REPAIR TOTAL OPENINGS**
' Jan. 1992 0 196
Feb. 1992 5 1 6 169
March 1992 1 6 1 8 336
' April 1992 2 1 3 401
May 1992 5 1 6 483
June 1992 2 2 462
' July 1992 1 1 512
August 1992 2 2 421
Sept. 1992 6 1 7 374
' Oct. 1992
Nov. 1992
1 3
1
3 3
5 546
558
Dec. 1992 1 3 4 271
--------------
(Subtotal)---- --------
-----(8) ------------------
---------(29)----- --------
-(10) --------
(47) --------------
(4,729)

Jan. 1993
2 ---
1 --------
3 --------------
228
Feb. 1993 4 4 117
' March 1993 2 2 4 231
April 1993 4 5 1 10 368
May 1993 2 2 456
' June 1993 1 1 461
July 1993 3 2 5 489
August 1993 1 1 430
Sept. 1993 2 1 3 435
Oct. 1993 2 2 4 409
Nov. 1993 2 1 3 571
' Dec. 1993----- ------ 1 1 286
(Subtotal) ---
( 8) ----------
------
(23) --------
(10) ----
---
(41) ------
(4,481)

' --------------
Jan. 1994 --------- -----------------
1 -------- --------
1 --------------
181
Feb. 1994 1 2 3 138
March 1994 0 265
' April 1994 1 5 6 381
May 1994 2 2 474
June 1994 2 2 454
(Subtotal) ( 4) ( 1) ( 9) (14) (1,893)
TOTAL 20 53 29 102 11 103
*
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It
s estimated that the average Sunset Bridge opening takes 10
minutes. This table shows the frequency of bridge openings which take
' at least twice as long as the routine bridge opening.
Source:* NCDOT Drawbridge Logs
**NCDOT Highway Traffic Statistic s. 1992 p. 62.

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Each bridge closure creates traffic congestion along the roadways
leading to the bridge. Vehicles waiting to cross the bridge back up
along NC 179 on the mainland and NC 1172 (Sunset Boulevard) on the
island. This bridge traffic congestion is further exacerbated because
the bridge is only one-lane. Vehicles must wait a longer time as
approximately alternating groups of 7 to 10 cars from the mainland and
then from the island are allowed to cross the bridge. The typical
bridge opening itself takes approximately 10 minutes, but vehicles may
have to wait an additional 10 to 20 minutes or longer before it is
their turn to cross. Occasionally, vehicles may be caught by two
bridge openings if a commercial vessel happens to approach the bridge
shortly before or after a scheduled routine bridge opening. The
traffic congestion is so severe during peak summer months that the
Town of Sunset Beach stations two auxiliary police officers to control
traffic on Friday afternoons, Saturdays, and Sundays from Memorial Day
thru Labor Day. This patrol cost the Town $25,000 during the summer
of 1993 .
The Town of Sunset Beach Police Department conducted a special
survey in order to quantify the bridge traffic congestion during a
typical summer weekend. Table 1.2 shows a single, one-time count of
the number of cars waiting as the bridge was about to reopen for
vehicular traffic. During this survey time, the worst congestion
occurred on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm when there were 178 cars on
the mainland and 110 cars on the island waiting to cross the bridge.
According to the Sunset Beach Town Manager, the traffic congestion was
so snarled on July 4, 1993 that the bridgetender and auxiliary police
were overwhelmed.
TABLE 1 2• NU1V-BER OF VEHICLES WAITING TO CROSS THE BRIDGE
SATURDAY. JUNE 19 AND SUNDAY JUNE 20 1993
SAT., JUNE 19 SUNDAY, JUNE 20
TIME OF DAY MAINLAND ISLAND MAINLAND ISLAND
0700 HRS. NO BRIDGE OPENING NO BRIDGE
0800 HRS. NO BRIDGE OPENING 6
0900 HRS. 31 80 20
1000 HRS. 46 102 34
1100 HRS. 67 98 61
1200 HRS. 42 47 38
1300 HRS. 118 67 63
1400 HRS. 108 91 50
1500 HRS. 178 110 67
1600 HRS. 118 81 53
1700 HRS. 115 91 44
1800 HRS. 102 112 39
1900 HRS. 88 62 38
OPENING
26
35
48
37
58
74
101
74
79
57
52
' Source: Town of Sunset Beach Police Department Traffic Survey

MAP 1.1: LOCATION OF PEAK TRAFFIC CONGESTION, SUMMER 1994
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' The location of this traffic congestion impairs public safety as
well. Map 1.1 shows the roadways which are impacted during peak
bridge traffic congestion. As shown by the map, the major
' intersection of NC 179 and SR 1172 at times becomes impassable thereby
interfering with access to and from the Sunset Beach Volunteer Fire
Department, Town Hall, and Police Station. Consequently, traffic
congestion, which is worse during the peak 'summer weekends when the
' probability of emergencies is the greatest, reduces the ability of
police, fire, and rescues services to respond to emergencies. This

' situation for police protection wi
Town Hall and Police Department is ll be improved somewhat when the new
opened in 1995.
Traffic accidents have also occurred in connection with bridge
' openings and traffic congestion. According to the Sunset Beach Police
Chief, over the past 5 years there has on the average been 6 traffic
accidents a year. Many of these accidents have been caused by cars
' rushing to beat bridge closings and then not being able to stop in
time resulting in "fender bender" collisions. The Calabash Rescue
Squad was summoned to the scene for at least one of these accidents. --
' Another problem is that the Sunset Beach floating bridge is
vulnerable to tide conditions, high winds associated with storms, and
lengthy bridge repair because of its customized design and age. The
' floating bridge must be tied back and secured during extreme high
tides in order to prevent the bridge from floating off its moorings.
Sunset Boulevard (the causeway road on the island) is also subject to
flooding during extreme high tides. Table 1.3 shows that between
January .1992 and June 1994, the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic
36 times for at least 30 minutes because of these conditions. At
least 24 of these times the bridge was closed for at an hour or
' longer. Many of these bridge closings were unscheduled and plans
could not be made to provide emergency services to the island. During
these occasions, the island residents and property were at risk in the
' event of an emergency because medical, police, and fire services could
not reach the island.

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TABLE 1. 3- S UNS ET BEACH NON-ROUTINE BRIDGE CLOSING FOR
VEHICU LAR TRAFFIC JANUARY 1992 - JUNE 1994

' AMOUNT TIME
DATE BRIDG E .C LOSED REASON
9/24/92 1 hr. 15 min. High Water _
9/25/92 am 2 hr. High Water
' 9/25/92 pm 1 hr. 30 min. High Water
9/26/92 1 hr. 15 min. High Water
9/27/92
9/28/92 1
1 hr.
hr
15
min High Water
High Water
10/ 7/92 . 37 .
min. Bridge Repair
10/30/92 - ---- -- Bridge Repair
' 11/ 8/92 1 hr 40 min. Bridge Repair. 911 Called.
11/ 9/92 -
_ - Highway Paving. Bridge Closed.
11/15/92 1 hr. 25 min. Bridge Repair
11/22/92 1 hr. 40 min. High Water
' 11/27/92 1 hr. Bridge Repair
12/ 7/92 1 hr. 15 min. Bridge Repair _.

' 12/10/92
3/13/93 30
10 hrs. min. Bridge Repair
March 13 Storm. High Water and
winds.
4/ 5/93 1 hr. 10 min. High Water
' 4/ 6/93 1 hr. High Water
4/ 7/93 1 hr. 10 min. High Water
4/12/93 1 hr. 30 min. Bridge Repair
6/28/93 35 min. Bridge Repair
7/11/93 3 hr. 30 min. Bridge Repair
7/12/93 50 min. Bridge Maintenance
7/13/93 Spo rad ic Bridge Repair
t 10/16/93 40 min. High Water
10/30/93 30 min. High Water
11/8/93 1 hr. 5 min. Bridge Repair
12/31/94 40 min. Slow Boat Traffic
' 1/10/94 2 hr. 20 min. Bridge Maintenance
4/18/94 1 hr. 30 min. Bridge Repair
4/23/94 30 min. High Water
4/24/94 3 hr. Bridge Repair
5/21/94 1 hr. 55 min. High Water
5/22/94 3 hr. High Water
' 6/5/94 8 hr. 30 min. Bridge Repair
6/7/94 30 min. Bridge Maintenance
Source: NCDOT Drawbridge logs.
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Town, county, and state officials are well aware that bridge
closings to vehicular traffic have serious public safety implications
for the island. Arrangements have been made to reduce the
vulnerability of the island. Ideally, 911, rescue, and fire officials
are to contact the bridge operators as soon as an emergency call on
the island is received. The bridge operators will then postpone any
bridge openings, even for commercial vessels, until the emergency is
over. The NCDOT is also suppose to contact town and emergency
officials prior to any scheduled closings of the bridge in order for
contingency arrangements to be made. For example, fire engine and
emergency equipment have been moved to the island prior to a scheduled
bridge closing for maintenance. Unfortunately, communication channels
have sometimes broken down and emergency services have been impeded.
Table 1.4 reveals all notations in the bridgetenders log between
January 1992 and June 1994 involving public safety episodes. In many
instances, the proper channels were followed and the emergency
services were able to be provided.
However, log entries for 7/21/92, 8/30/92, and 11/12/92 reveal --
that communication problems existed and bridge openings delayed
emergency vehicles during critical response times. The July 21, 1992
incident is discussed in a newspaper article in the Appendix and was
caused by a pleasure boat identifying itself as a ~~commercial vessel~~
resulting in the bridge opening on demand. Meanwhile the Sunset Beach
Volunteer Fire Department was preparing to respond to a fire on the
island, but failed to notify the bridge. The fire truck was,
therefore, delayed by the bridge opening. In another 1991 incident,
the .Calabash Rescue Squad contends that a bridge delay resulted in the
death of a cardiac patient, as attested by a letter included in the
Appendix.
Strangely enough, the causeway road on the island was the site of
most emergency calls during 1993. The Sunset Beach Fire Department
log revealed that the fire department responded to 18 grass fires
along the causeway road between April thru July of 1993. These grass
fires were caused by discarded cigarettes thrown from vehicles waiting
for the bridge to open. The discarded cigarettes ignited a burlap-
type material used by the NCDOT when grass was replanted along the
causeway road in order to repair erosion damage caused by the March 13
storm. This burlap material was used in order to minimize
environmental damage from runoff. The impact of traffic congestion
delaying emergency vehicles is revealed by the fact that it took the
Sunset Beach Fire Department 14 minutes to respond to one of these
fires, even though the fire station is located less than one-half mile
away. In this instance, the volunteer fire fighters had difficulty
getting to the fire station because of bridge traffic congestion and
also encountered trouble maneuvering the fire truck to the causeway
fire.

' TABLB 1 4• PUBLIC SAFETY EPISODES INVOLVING SUNSBT BEACH BRIDGE
JANUARY 1992 - JIINB 1994
DATE EPISODE
6/29/92 Delayed opening bridge for boats ordered by 911.
* 7/21/92 Rescue unit had to wait for bridge to open for
vehicular traffic. Bridge not notified of impending
emergency.
8/5/92 Late opening for boats. EMS ambulance on island from
2:55 pm- 3:15 pm.
' 8/14/92 Late opening for boats due to EMS ambulance on island
side.
* 8/30/92 Sunset Beach Fire Department called. Two trucks
' crossed bridge. Bridge opened for water traffic. Four
more emergency vehicles had to wait on bridge to reopen __
for vehicular traffic.
*11/12/92 Sunset Beach emergency vehicle crossed bridge but did
not notify bridgetender beforehand. Ocean Isle also
responded and called bridge before arrival. Thirty-
five minutes later Sunset Beach vehicle returned to
mainland but did not notify bridge before departure.
' Ocean Isle vehicle called and cleared for return.
12/ 9/92 Call from 911 at 4:37 am. Ambulance cleared at 5:05 am.
' 12/10/92 Call from 911.
4/ 2/93 10 minute delay in opening bridge for tug because of
EMS emergency.
4/8/93 911 called. EMS on island 11:45 am, off at 12:03 pm.
4/24/93 911 Called at 4:30 pm. EMS at bridge 4:40 pm and
returned at 4:58 pm.
' 5/12/93 Bridge delayed opening for water traffic because of
causeway roadside fire.
5/22/93 Bridge delayed opening for water traffic because of
causeway roadside fire.
6/7/93
' 6/22/93
' *= Communication Problems Caused Delay
Ambulance crossed bridge.
911 Called at 4:14 pm. Ambulance crossed bridge at
4:27 pm.
Source: NCDOT Drawbridge Logs

~ e
' TABL$ 1 4 n - P LI BPI D$ INV LVIN BT BBA BRI B
>G .
JANUARY 1992 - JUNE 1994
DAT$ SPISODS
' 6/23/93 Ambulance crossed at 8:21 pm. Returned at 8:37 pm.
7/13/93 Fire Dept. called at 10:05 pm. Approval given at
10:15 pm to open for waterway traffic.
7/14/93 911 called at 2:35 pm. Ambulance crossed at 2:40 pm
and returns at 3:18 pm.
7/18/93 Shallotte ambulance crossed bridge.
10/2/94 911 called at 10:05 am. EMS ambulance crossed at
10:18 am and returned at 10:30 am.
4/30/94 Fire and rescue units crossed bridge at 9:10 pm.
' Returned at 9:45 pm.
6/11/94 Opening delayed 50 minutes by orders of 911 because of
emergency on beach.
6/21/94 Opening delayed 15 minutes because of emergency on
' island.
6/22/94 Opening delayed 10 minutes because of emergency om
' beach.
6/26/94 Bridge requested to remain closed for ambulance.
Ambulance crossed at 3:50 pm. Emergency over at
4.15 pm.
6/28/94 Bridge closed to waterway traffic at 2:50 pm by request
' of Calabash EMS. Emergency over at 3:18 pm.
*= Communication Problems Caused Delay Source: NCDOT Drawbridge Logs
' 2. Boating Access Along the Intracoastal Waterwax
One should also consider the impact the Sunset Beach bridge has
' for commercial and pleasure boaters. By mandate of the United States
Coast Guard, the Sunset Beach bridge must open on demand for any
vessel that identifies itself as a commercial vessel. Pleasure
' boaters must wait for hourly bridge openings from April thru October.
In some instances, bridgetenders believe that pleasure boaters
misrepresent themselves as commercial vessels in order to obtain an
immediate opening. Hourly bridge openings are sometimes delayed
' because of emergencies on the island as noted on Table 1.4.
The "floating" nature of the bridge also poses an obstacle.
' During extreme low tides, the bridge is unable to swing open and must

9
' remain closed for waterway traffic whereas during extreme high tides
the bridge is closed for road traffic because the bridge must be tied
back to prevent the bridge from ~~floating~~ away. Moreover, the
causeway road also often becomes flooded during extreme high tides.
Table 1.5 shows the Sunset Beach bridge closings for water _
' traffic from January 1992 thru June 1994. During this period, the
bridge could not open 40 times for boat traffic for the following
reasons: 28 incidents of bridge breakdown, repairs, or maintenance; 7
incidents of extreme low tides; 2 incidents of fire on the causeway
road; 2 incidents of US Coast Guard ordering the bridge to be closed;
and one closure due to loss of electrical power. These closings or
prolonged delays ranged from 25 minutes to over 8 hours and do not
include minor delays in bridge openings resulting from the response of
emergency vehicles. A communication breakdown between the fire
department and bridgetender resulted in a commercial vessel being
' unnecessarily delayed on April 4, 1993. It is standard operating
procedure for the United States Coast Guard to be informed whenever
the bridge is closed to Intracoastal Waterway boat traffic. __

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TABLE 1 5- SUNSET BEACH BRIDGE CLOSINGS FOR WATER TRAFFIC
JANUARY 1992 - JUNE 1994
AMOUNT TIME
DATE BRIDGE.CL OSBD REMARKS
1/22/92 54 min. Extreme Low Tide _
3/18/92 1 hr. 35 min. Extreme Low Tide
4/ 4/92 3 hr. 10 min. Bridge Repair
4/25/92 2 hr. 10 min. U.S. Coast Guard ordered bridge
closed to water traffic.
6/20/92 4 hr. 45 min. Bridge Repair
10/16/92 2 hr. 30 min. U.S. Coast Guard ordered bridge
closed to water traffic
11/13/92 4 hr. 40 min. Bridge Repair
11/15/92 1 hr. 15 min. Bridge Repair
11/19/92 2 hr. 17 min. Bridge Repair
11/20/92 1 hr. 35 min. Bridge Repair
11/27/92 2 hr. Bridge Repair
12/ 5/92 4 hrs. Bridge Repair __
12/10/92 8 hr. 8 min. Bridge Repair
12/28/92 2 hr. 45 min. Bridge Repair
12/29/92 3 hr. 20 min. Bridge Repair
3/ 6/93 40 min. Extreme Low Tide
3/ 9/93 30 min. Extreme Low Tide
3/13/93 5 hrs. Bridge Repair
* 4/ 4/93 1 hr. Bridge closed to water traffic
because of grass fire on
. causeway. Vessel delayed
unnecessarily for 33 minutes
because no one informed bridge
tender that emergency was over.
4/ 6/93 30 min. Extreme Low Tide
5/22/93 25 min. Fire on Causeway Road
5/28/93 55 min. Bridge Repair
6/23/93 2 hr. 49 min. Bridge Repair.
7/ 1/93 1 hr. 8 min. Bridge Maintenance
8/13/93 3 hr. 25 min. Bridge Repair, Broken Cable
9/ 1/93 1 hr. 50 min. Bridge Repair, Broken Cable
12/ 3/94 1 hr. 20 min. Bridge Repair, Gates Broken
12/ 4/94 6 hr. Bridge Repair
12/31/94 45 min. Extreme Low Tide
1/12/94 50 min. Extreme Low Tide
1/15/94 2 hr. 10 min. Loss of Electrical Power
2/10/94 2 hr. 30 min. Bridge Repair, Jammed Cable
2/12/94 2 hr. 30 min. Bridge Repair
2/13/94 3 hr. 35 min. Bridge Repair
3/29/94 1 hr. 50 min. Bridge Repair
4/10/94 3 hr. 15 min. Bridge Repair
4/27/94 1 hr. 40 min. Bridge Maintenance
4/27/94 1 hr. 7 min. Bridge Maintenance
6/ 6/94 1 hr. 45 min. Bridge Repair
6/ 6/94 1 hr. 30 min. Bridge Repair
Source: NCDOT Drawbridge Logs

The closing of the Sunset B~
has public safety implications.
log when emergencies existed and
open on demand for boat traffic.
emergencies coincided with times
than being closed for repairs or
11
each bridge to water traffic likewise
Table 1.6 shows 5 incidents from the
it was imperative for the bridge to
It was fortunate that these
that the bridge could be open, rather
because ofextreme low tides.
TABLE 1. BOATING EMERGENCIES INVOLVING SUNSET BEACH BRIDGE.
JANUARY 1992 - JUNE 1994
DATE EPISODE
' 5/22/93 Early bridge opening. Emergency aboard yacht.
6/26/93 Early opening. Emergency aboard yacht.
' 7/ 7/93 Doctor says emergency aboard yacht. Bridge opens.
7/18/93 Emergency on Bird Island. USCG responds.
'
4/24/94 Special bridge opening for emergency aboard yacht.
' Source: NCDOT Drawbrid
l
s
.
ge
og
Prolonged delays can result in near tragedies. Unfortunately,
' some impati ent boaters attempt to pass thru the bridge either as it is
opening or closing and prior to or after the official warning signal
is given. There were 20 such incidents noted in the drawbridge logs
' between November 6, 1993 and May 15, 1994. Frequently, these boats
strike the bridge cable posing a threat to the bridge and themselves.
In fact, a court case is pending involving a speedboater who injured
himself and damaged his boat when he struck the cable on August 6,
1993.
3. January 1985 Barge Collision and Bridge Closure
' The Sunset Beach bridge was struck by a barge being towed by the
tugboat Angela M. about noon on January 12, 1985 and was rendered
' impassable for vehicular and pedestrian traffic for four days until
6:00 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 1985. Boat traffic was also stopped
for about 24 hours until underwater inspection revealed that the
waterway was safe for vessels to"pass. 11
Governor Martin declared a State of Emergency on January 12,
1985 for the following reasons:
'The bridge closure will result in extreme social and economic
hardship to the citizens living in the Sunset Beach area. Since this
' bridge provided the only ingress and egress to the island, its closure
will have severe adverse effects on existing businesses, medical
services, schools, disposal of medical waste, law enforcement and
' other necessary activities, and emergency services."

12
The impact of this tugboat collision with the bridge were as
follows:
* Damage to the Bridge: The east fender system of approximately
150 linear feet was completely demolished, together with three
sections of the eastern approach ramp. AppY~oximately 75 NCDOT
personnel were involved in making the repairs. Initial estimates
stated that it would take at least two weeks to repair the bridge.
* Day Visitors: About 150 to 200 day visitors were stranded on
the island, including a group from Wisconsin who had rental cars.
Many of these visitors had to abandon their cars and were returned to
the mainland by boat. .
* Ferry Service: Between 60 to 75 island residents had to depend
upon temporary ferry service for transportation to and from the
mainland during the five days that the bridge was being repaired.
Initially, local volunteers from the Shallotte and Waccamaw Rescue
Squads manned Boston Whalers to transport passengers on Saturday and
Sunday. Ferry operations began Sunday afternoon with a barge leased
from Bald Head Island. Operation of this ferry service was
discontinued on Sunday evening at 7:30 pm when the barge became
grounded at low tide. This barge was later freed by 10:30 pm and was
returned to Bald Head Island. The Division of Marine Fisheries
landing craft Long BaX arrived Sunday evening and began ferry
operations. Ferry operations continued during daylight hours for the
duration of the bridge closure, except for the three hours prior to
and after low tide. As of Monday, January 14, 48 private cars, 28
State cars, one school bus, and 96 passengers had been transported by
the Long Bax ferry. Boston Whaler service was provided around the
clock on a as-needed basis. No figures are available for the total
number of vehicles and passengers transported during the entire five
day emergency.
* Emergency Services: During the initial phases of this
operation, local emergency and fire personnel were dispatched to the
island where they remained available 24 hours a day. The Bald Head
barge was transporting a 500 gallon pumper fire engine and Calabash
Rescue Squad ambulance to the island when it become grounded on Sunday
evening. ANC National Guard helicopter from the Raleigh-Durham
Airport was stationed on the island to provide emergency medical
evacuation. A state command post and emergency center was established
at the Sunset Beach Fire Department. A public service telephone
hotline was manned 24 hours a day. The need to provide effective
medical services was more critical because an island resident was
recuperating from major cardiac surgery.
* School Transportation: A school bus was ferried to the island
to transport schoolchildren from Monday thru Wednesday. There were 27
' school age children living on the island at the time of the tugboat
incident. Three attended private school and were transported by
Boston Whaler at a time earlier than the public school run.
1

' 13
* Public Servi-P~ Provision of most town services, including
police protection and building inspections, were not available to
island residents during the five days when the bridge was out. City
' garbage collection was conducted on the island on Tuesday, January 15.
* Disruption of Business• Construction had to be halted on 31
houses being built on the island. Arrangements had to be made for a
private vendor to provide fuel for vehicles on the island. Volunteers
manned a taxi service on the mainland in order to transport island
' residents to work, medical appointments, and necessary shopping trips.
* Cost of Accident/Bridge Closure• -
The State of North Carolina filed a claim for damages against the
Sea Tow, Inc., the owners of the tugboat Angela M. After 2 1/2 years
of negotiations, the State of NC accepted payment of $119,766.47 on
' June 5, 1987. The final cost figures used by the State were as
follows

Actual Bridge Repair (Labor, Equipment, Materials} $147,348.01
Ferry Service $ 27,450.57
TOTAL $174,798.58
Credit: Depreciation of Bridge ($ 46,157.95)
.It should be noted, however, that the actual cost of the tugboat
collision is far greater than reflected by these figures. First, the
figures do not reflect the cost of services provided by volunteer
rescue and fire squads. It has been estimated that at least 700 hours
of volunteer time were dedicated to this State of Emergency at an
estimated labor cost of $5,600 and equipment cost of $7,200. The cost
of providing the National Guard helicopter could not be determined
because the Division of Emergency Management files for this incident
are no longer available. One must also consider the cost of legal
services in filing and pursuing the damage claim over a 2 1/2 year
period as well as the additional cost imposed to businesses, building
contractors, and island residents.
The Angela M tugboat collision with the Sunset Beach bridge has
several implications for the Environmental Impact Statement. First,
the relatively narrow bridge opening for water traffic makes the
current bridge more vulnerable to collision. In fact, the bridge was
struck again on January 20, 1985 by a military landing craft and
fortunately, the damage by this collision was relatively minor and
repairs were expedited because the bridge maintenance barge was still
on site. As discussed earlier, it is common for pleasure boats to try
"to beat the bridge" and strike the underwater cable. The design of
the current pontoon bridge makes it more vulnerable to boat
collisions. Furthermore, the Angela M incident reveals how critical
reliable bridge access is to maintain the public safety of island
residents. It required an enormous effort to provide minimal public
safety and services during the time the bridge was out. The impact of

14
another prolonged bridge closure would be even more severe today since
the island permanent population has expanded from 60 permanent
residents in 1985 to an estimated 269 permanent residents in 1993.
' Moreover, the timing of the Angela M was fortunate in that the bridge
closure happened in January, the month that there are less people
living on the island. The scenario would have been completely
' different if the collision had happened during the peak summer season
when there could be as many as 12,000 residents and day visitors on
the island. A glimpse of such a scenario occurred on the weekend of
' May 21 and 22, 1994 when the bridge was closed for several hours
because of high tides which flooded the causeway road with 10 to 12
inches of water and floated the bridge off its moorings trapping day
visitors, workers, and residents on the island. (Article included in
' the Appendix: "Abnormally High Tide Puts Sunset Motorists in Limbo,"
Brunswick Beacon, May 26, 1994.)
' 4. March 13 1993 "Storm of the Century"
The severity of the March 13, 1993 storm caught the weather __
' forecasters by surprise in the Southeast. Forecasts for this storm
did not trigger disaster preparation activities for beach towns along
the North Carolina coast, including Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle, and
Holden Beach. Weather forecasts for the morning of the thirteenth had
' predicted winds from the Southeast and Southwest of approximately 45
mph with some minor flooding and beach erosion possible. However, the
March 13 Storm has been compared to a hurricane and town officials had
no time to prepare. In fact, town officials at Sunset Beach and Ocean
Isle believed that a severe thunderstorm at 5:30 am was the extent of
the predicted winter storm which resulted in a false sense of
security that the worse was over. This false impression was
reinforced by official weather forecasts which were still predicting
45 mph winds, even as hurricane-force winds were striking the islands.
Town officials now acknowledge that these beach towns would have been
' evacuated if the actual storm weather conditions had been forecasted
with 6 to 8 hours warning.
' The storm's severity varied between each beach town according to
its orientation. In Ocean Isle, winds reached hurricane force at the
high rise bridge by 9:45 am and the wind direction shifted from the
Southeast to due South. Since Ocean Isle faces south, this new wind
direction caused the high tide to be higher than usual. The estimated
highest tide level in Ocean Isle was 7.5 feet MSL which occurred
before noon when waves were washing over the canal area. By 10:00 am,
town officials began to restrict sightseers on the East end of the
beach. As flood waters rose and the wind speed grew, the town police,
fire, and public officials retreated to the bridge and Town Hall. By
10:30 am, town officials closed the high rise bridge to prevent anyone
from accessing the island, and the Town Hall began to function as an
emergency shelter. By noon, the wind direction shifted
instantaneously to due West and the storm conditions began to subside
' in Ocean Isle. The high rise bridge was opened again to traffic by
1:30 pm.

15
The storm was now beginning to worsen in Sunset Beach as the
result of the shift in wind direction and rising high tide. The
floating pontoon bridge had been closed to water traffic at 6:30 am
because of a broken gate and high winds. At 11:30 am, the Sunset
Beach Bridge was closed to vehicular traffic and opened for water
traffic because of high tide and high winds. Town officials were
given five minutes notice prior to the bridge being closed for
vehicular traffic. This was just sufficient time to dispatch afire
engine and fire fighter, who was also a Shallotte police officer and
emergency medical technician, to the island. The Sunset Beach bridge
would remain closed until 9:45 pm when only emergency vehicles were
allowed to cross because of ice on the bridge and high winds. By
10:45 pm, the bridge was opened for all vehicular traffic.
The nearly 12 hour bridge closing with just five minute warning
endangered public safety. About 100 cars carrying day visitors were
stranded on the island. As the day progressed, the temperature
dropped from the 60's to freezing. People stayed in their cars with
engines running for warmth until their cars ran out of gas. __
' One Calabash resident who was stranded on the island was a
diabetic without insulin. Public safety officials considered several
options to transport insulin to the stranded diabetic, but could not
' find an option that would not endanger the lives of rescue personnel.
Fortunately, the diabetic did not have a medical crisis.

1

The impact of the March 13 Storm reveals several critical factors
regarding the public safety of Sunset Beach, especially for island
residents and visitors. First of all, accurate weather forecasting is
imperative. Beach communities will always be dependent upon timely
and accurate weather forecasts for flood warning because of the time
necessary for evacuation. This is especially true in Sunset Beach
which needs a longer lead time to conduct evacuations because the
floating pontoon bridge must be closed when storm high tides and winds
strike. The March 13 Storm fooled the National Weather Service. The
pounding of the South Atlantic served as an advance warning for the
Northeast where better flood and storm warnings took place.
Some Sunset Beach residents have criticized town officials for
not taking proper precautions during the March 13 Storm. These
critics contend that the Sunset Beach bridge should have been closed
to traffic sooner to prevent day visitors from coming on the island,
especially since the Ocean Isle bridge was closed by 10:30 am as
compared to the Sunset Beach bridge being closed at 11:30 am. This
criticism warrants closer examination. First of all, the orientation
of Ocean Isle made it more susceptible to the Southeast and due South
winds of the storm in the morning. The impact of the 5:30 am
thunderstorm was even worse in Ocean Isle where 3 oceanfront houses
lost their roofs in contrast to Sunset Beach where no major building
damage had been done and only trash cans were blown around. According
to the Sunset Beach town manager, there was no indication that the
storm would take a dramatic turn for the worse and no reason to stop
public access to the island. Moreover, the height and location of the
bridges would make a difference. Hurricane force winds would strike

16
' the 65 foot high rise bridge at Ocean Isle sooner and with more force
than the low-lying bridge at Sunset Beach. The Ocean Isle bridge is
located only about 1/2 mile from the ocean while the Sunset Beach
' bridge is located approximately 1 mile from the ocean. The magnitude
of the March 13 Storm also caught the Ocean Isle officials by
surprise. The Ocean Isle building inspector was making plans to go
' home at 9:30 am when he began to realize that the storm was worsening
rapidly and that Ocean Isle was now being confronted with a life
threatening storm with no prior warning from weather forecasters.
These factors help to explain the time differentials between the
' bridge closings.
The March 13 storm also exemplifies how Mother Nature, rather
' than modern day man, is the controlling force. Some contend that the
NCDOT should be able to predict exactly when the bridge will be closed
because of high tides. NCDOT officials contend, on the other hand,
' that wind and weather conditions likewise determine whether the bridge
will be closed because of high tides and these other variables cannot
be predicted; therefore, it is not possible to publish a "schedule" of __
when the bridge will be closed for high tides.

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B. AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT• SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Social and community resources within the Town of Sunset Beach
include churches, schools, cemeteries, public and private recreational
facilities, and governmental facilities including the Town Hall,
Sunset Beach Police Station, and the Sunset Beach Fire Department.
The location of these community facilities is shown on Map 1.1.
1. Churches
Two churches are located in the extra-territorial area of the
Town of Sunset Beach. The Seaside United Methodist Church is located-
on NC 904 and the Lighthouse Mission Church is located near the Shady
Forest subdivision off NC 179. The Calabash Presbyterian Church,
located on Georgetown .Road outside of Sunset Beach, also offers
worship services on the island during the summer months. On one
occasion, the Presbyterian minister was stranded on the island by a
bridge breakdown and had to be transported by private boat to the
mainland in order to lead the regular Sunday worship at the Calabash
church.
2. Schools
There are no public or private schools located within the Town of
Sunset Beach Planning Area. Table 1.7-shows public school enrollment
of Sunset Beach students as of the Fall of 1993. Elementary school
children (K-3) attend Union Primary School, middle school children
grades 4-8 attend Shallotte Middle School, and high school students
grades 9-12 attend West Brunswick High School. Public school bus
transportation is available. School officials noted that the school
buses may be late arriving to school once or twice a month because of
bridge-related problems. .Several years ago a school bus broke down on
the bridge causing delays for school children and commuters alike.
One trend concerning the residency of school children should be
mentioned. There were 27 schoolchildren living on the island at the
time of the Angela M tugboat collision in January 1985 and only 10
public school children living on the island in the Fall of 1993. The
inconveniences of bridge delays has caused some families with school
children to abandon the island and move to the mainland according to
one Sunset Beach Town Council member. There is a private school
located in Shallotte which some school children attend.
TABLE 1 7• PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT OF SUNSET BEACH RESIDENTS
FALL 1993
S HO L ISLAND MAINLAND TOTAL
Elementary 4 25 29
Middle School 3 33 36
High School 3 14 17
TOTAL
10
72
82
Source: Brunswick County School Transportation Department

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3. Cemeteries
There are two, very small family cemeteries dating back to the
early 1900's located in Sunset Beach. The Frink Family cemetery is
located near Hole #1 of the Maples Golf course and the other is
located off of SR 1162 near the intersection of NC 179 and NC 904.
Neither of these cemeteries should be disturbed by any bridge
replacement improvements.
4 Public and Private Recreational Facilities
The oceanfront and adjacent waterways as well as the four major -
championship golf courses provide the major recreational opportunities
for residents and visitors at Sunset Beach. Sunset Beach has 33 beach
accesses on the island and provides 283 public parking spaces for
beach access, including the relatively new 45 space lot with a gazebo
located near the fishing pier. Currently, the Town does not have a
formal recreation policy nor does it operate public boat accesses,
estuary accesses, or similar public recreational facilities. As with __
any beach community, this area attracts swimmers, boaters, bicyclists,
and joggers. In fact, numerous bicyclists and joggers cross the
Sunset Beach bridge and any replacement bridge should be designed to
accommodate pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
The Sunset Beach bridge itself serves as a tourist attraction to
some degree. People will travel to the "quaint" bridge to watch its
unique openings and to take photographs.
Private recreational facilities do exist in the Town. Sea Trail
Plantation and Oyster Bay together operate 4 championship golf courses
within the Planning Area of Sunset Beach. In addition, Sea Trail
Plantation has swimming pools and tennis courts available for their
residents and guests. The Sunset Beach Fishing Pier provides
oceanfront pier fishing on the island. There is a community center
located in Shoreline Woods for use by this neighborhood's residents.
Sea Trail Plantation also has a boat ramp facility for the use of
its residents and guests. The Sea Trail ramp is located near
Shoreline Woods on the mainland. There are also two unimproved areas
which local boaters use to launch small boats. One is the boating
area located near the Sunset Beach bridge off the causeway road on the
island. A popular misconception is that this area is publicly owned
by the NCDOT or another public agency. This "ramp" is actually an
"allowed trespass" area by the Gore family and has been used for
several decades by local boaters to launch small boats under 18 feet.
Boaters favor this facility because boats can be launched at low and
high tides. The other boat launching area is located at the end of SR
1242 near Bonaparte Retreat and boats may only be launched during high
tide at this location. Neither of these areas are recognized or
maintained as official boat ramp facilities by the Town, County, or
State officials. The "Gore ramp" would probably be impacted by any
replacement of the Sunset Beach bridge which is a concern for local
boaters as well as the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management.
1

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5. Town Services
The Town Hall of Sunset Beach is presently located at 220
Shoreline Drive West (NC 179) about 1/4 mile from the intersection of
NC 179 and SR 1172. By late 1995, the Town of Sunset Beach
anticipates opening a new Town Hall located at the corner of Pine View
Drive and Sunset Boulevard (NC 179). The Town of Sunset Beach
provides administrative services, building inspections, public work
projects including water services, police protection services, and
contracts for solid waste collection services. The Sunset Beach
bridge is a vital link for providing these services to the island. As
suggested by the Sunset Beach Town Manager, one additional cost of the
current bridge for town management is the "lost man hours" resulting
from town employees having to wait on the bridge.
6. Police Services
The Town of Sunset Beach Police Station is now located on the
mainland next to the Town Hall at 220 Shoreline Drive West (NC 179). _-
A new police station will be built in conjunction with a new Town Hall
located at the corner of Pine View Drive and Sunset Boulevard
(NC 179). The new police station should be opened by the Fall of
1995. The police force provides services to all of the corporate
limits. Police cars must cross the bridge to provide routine patrols
on the island as well as to be able to respond to emergency calls.
Table 1.8 shows the number of times that police cars crossed the
bridge during the week of June 19 thru June 25, 1993. During this
week, patrol cars crossed the bridge a total of 298 times in order to
provide routine patrols and to respond to police calls.
TABLE 1 8• NUMBER OF TIMES SUNSET BEACH POLICE PATROL UNITS
CROSSED THE BRIDGE 6/19/93 - 6/25/93
DAY OF WEEK DATE BRIDGE CROSSINGS
Saturday 6/19/93 62
Sunday 6/20/93 44
'
Monday 6/21/93 46
Tuesday 6/22/93 34
Wednesday 6/23/93 34
' Thursday 6/24/93 30
Friday 6/25/93 48

TOTAL 2 8
Source: Town of Sunset Beach Police Department Survey, June 1993
Table 1.9 shows the monthly breakdown for 1992 of police calls by
the Sunset Beach Police Department to the island, mainland, and
requests for assistance outside the city limits. Police calls are
important to analyze because quick response time is imperative for
public safety. During 1992, the police responded to 331 calls on the
island as compared to 336 calls in 1991. Sunset Beach Police Chief
Buell stated that between Memorial Day thru Labor Day, police cars

20
take at least an additional 2 minutes to respond to island calls
because of bridge traffic congestion and sometimes island calls are
delayed as much as 10 to 30 minutes because of bridge closings and
congestion. The current bridge is a major concern for Chief Buell as
stated in a February 25, 1991 memorandum which is included in the
Appendix and as briefly quoted below:
"After being here as Chief of Police and seeing first hand the
traffic situation, my professional opinion is that the Sunset Beach
Bridge, quaint as it is, is very inadequate and is a safety hazard in
an emergency situation."
TABLE 1.9: SUNSET BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT MONTHLY CALL REPORT 1992
OUTSIDE
MONTH ISLAND MAINLAND CITY LIMITS TOTAL
January 15 23 5 43
February 5 2 7 1 33
March 25 35 6 41
April 22 52 12 86
May 41 65 7 113
June 48 47 4 99
July 62 25 3 90
August 42 20 2 64
September 24 21 3 48
October 23 35 9 67
November 18 24 8 50
December 6 18 5 29
_ 1992 TOTAL 331 392 6 788
o OF ALL CALLS 42.1°s 49.70 8 2s 100s
1991 TOTAL 336 166 108 610
OF ALL CALLS 55.10 27.20 17.7°s 1000
' Source: Town of Sunset Beach Police Department
On the other hand, some island residents contend that the
' floating pontoon bridge functions as a deterrent for crime. These
residents belive that the drawbridge attendant serves as a "human
watchdog" and "gatekeeper" by observing all who cross the bridge.
Criminals, thereby, are hesitant to cross the bridge because of their
fear of being observed as well as the possibility of being trapped on
the island during their get-away by bridge closings. Two island
residents who were interviewed also noted that the Sunset Beach Police
' Department could use the bridge as a roadblock by ordering the bridge
to swing open. One resident who was interviewed also believed that
the crime rate probably rose dramatically at Holden Beach and Ocean
' Isle after the high rise bridges were built because criminals could
speed on and off the islands unobserved.

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Police Department and town officials in Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle,
and Holden Beach took exception to these perceptions. Holden Beach
and Ocean Isle Police Departments believe that the high rise bridges
have actually deterred crime because the police departments benefitted
by more dependable and reliable bridge access. Reliable crime
statistics were not available to quantify these trends. All three
towns noted that the quality of the police force and the availability
of crime prevention programs such as Neighborhood Watch, good street
lighting, and property identification programs deterred crime, not the
type of bridge access available. Moreover, criminals also gain
access to the islands by boat and the bridge access would not
influence this criminal activity. Police officials in all three towns
noted that the one-road access to the islands facilitates roadblock
operations and this ability did not depend upon what type of bridge
access is available. Moreover, the Sunset Beach Town Manager stated
that she would never approve swinging the bridge open as a roadblock
because the police officers on the island would also become trapped
and could not request additional assistance.
7. Fire Protection
The Sunset Beach Volunteer Fire Department is located at 102
Shoreline Drive West and this department with about 20 volunteers
serves both the Town and surrounding area. It is interesting to note
that none of the current volunteer firemen live either on the mainland
within the town limits of Sunset Beach or on the island. The fire
station's equipment includes one 750 gpm pumper truck, one 2,000
gallon fire tanker, one 1,600 gpm brush truck, one 1,250 pumper tank,
and one salvage truck which carries tools and equipment. The tallest
fire ladder available is a 35 foot ladder with an estimated height
access of 25 feet and it is estimated that the three-story high beach
houses would need a 35 to 40 foot high ladder truck. However, it is
impossible for larger fire trucks to cross the pontoon bridge. The
Sunset Beach Fire Department actually pretests fire fighting equipment
before purchase to make sure that the fire trucks can cross the
bridge. For example, the 90 foot platform truck stationed in Ocean
Isle can only cross the bridge at mid-tide when-the angle of the
floating bridge is most level with the street. Cecil Logan, Fire
Marshall of Brunswick County, estimates that the Ocean Isle platform
fire engine can only cross the bridge about 6 to 8 hours of every day,
yet this is the most optimal type of equipment needed to fight beach
house fires. Consequently, the current pontoon bridge limits the size
of fire fighting equipment which the Sunset Beach Fire Department
purchases as well as extremely limits the type of fire fighting
equipment which can respond to island fires.
Bridge closings and bridge traffic congestion also hampers the
effectiveness of f ire protection. Table 1.10 shows the location of
the Sunset beach Volunteer Fire Department responses between January
1992 and July 1993. During this nineteen-month time period, the
Sunset Beach Fire Department responded to 19 calls on the mainland; 9
calls on the island; and 18 calls to the. causeway to fight the burlap
grass fires which was discussed previousily. The response time to the
island fires ranged from 3 to 12 minutes with an average of 6 minutes

' 22
' as compared to the response time to the mainland fires which ranged
from 3 to 8 minutes with a 4.9 minute average. It appears that it
does take the Fire Department longer to respond to island fires in
many instances even though the distance was probably shorter than to
many of the mainland fires.

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TABLB 1 .10- SUNSET BEACFI VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTME NT CALLS
JANUARY 1992 - JULY 1993
DATE MAINLAND ISLAND RESPON S TIMS*
3/24/92 Main St, 5 min.
3/29/92 Dolphin St. 5 min.
4/18/92 Lakeshore Drive 6 min.
5/11/92 Georgetown Rd. 5 min.
5/24/92 Canal Drive 5 min.
6/29/92 Sailfish Drive 7 min.
7/1/92 Sailfish Drive 6 min.
7/28/92 Sailfish Drive 4 min.
7/30/92 Dunes 3 min.
8/2/92 Georgetown Rd. 5 min.
9/5/92 Schooner Point 5 min.
9/6/92 Shoreline Drive 5 min.
9/30/92 Main Street 5 min.
10/20/92 Sea Trail 3 min.
10/28/92 Sea Trail 7 min.

12/9/92
NC 904
3 __
min
1/23/93 Park Drive 6 min.
2/2/93 NC 904 5 min.
3/13/93 Magnolia Drive 4 min.
4/7/93 NC 904 8 min.
4/17/93 Fishing Pier 4 min.
5/8/93 Causeway 3 min.
5/10/93 Causeway 3 min.
5/12/93 Causeway 3 min.
5/18%93 Sea Trail 6 min.
5/30/93 Causeway 6 min.
6/5/93 Lakeshore Drive 3 min.
6/6/93 Causeway 2 min.
6/6/93 Sea Trail 5 min.
6/6/93 Causeway 2 min.
6/6/93 Causeway 3 min.
6/6/93 Causeway 8 min.
6/7/93 Causeway 2 min.
6/8/93 Sea Trail 4 min.
6/17/93 Medcalf 4 min.
6/20/93 Causeway 2 min.
6/20/93 Causeway 2 min.
6/21/93 Causeway 3 min.
6/21/93 Causeway 5 min.
6/24/93 Causeway 5 min.
6/28/93 Causeway 14 min.
7/1/93 Causeway 2 min.
7/1/93 Causeway 2 min.
7/10/93 Causeway 2 min.
7/13/93 Canal Street 12 min.
7/14/93 40 h Street 8 min
Total Calls Mainland: 19 Island: 9 Causeway: 18
Response Time 3 - 8 min. 3 - 12 min. 2 - 14 min.
Average 4.9 min. 6 min. 3.8 min
Source: Sunset Beach Volunteer Fire Department Log
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' 24
' $. Rescue Services
' The Calabash Emergency Medical System provides rescue services to
Sunset Beach, Calabash, and Grissettown. The Calabash station is
located about 3.2 miles from the Sunset Beach Town Hall. This
' volunteer squad has 20 members on its roster and these volunteers have
received EMT training. This squad has three ambulances which are
equipped with standard basic life support systems and advanced life
support (ALS) systems. Table 1.11 shows the number of Calabash Rescue
squad calls to Sunset Beach from January 1991 thru July 1993. It was
not possible to specify the number of calls to the island or to the
mainland. The present Sunset Beach bridge is a major safety concern
' of the Calabash Rescue Squad as stated in the letter in the Appendix.
Standard procedure is for the 911 dispatcher and the rescue squad
dispatcher to notify the bridge as soon as an island rescue call is
' received. Communication problems still occur and there is always the
possibility that the bridge may be closed to road traffic because of
mechanical breakdown, tide conditions, or weather conditions and that __
the ambulance will not be able to respond to a life-threatening call
' on the island.
' TABLE 1 11 • CAi ABASH EMERGENCY RES iiE CALLS TO SUNSET BEACH
JANUARY 1991 - JULY 1993
MONTH 19 1 1992 1993
' January 11 5 6
February 11 2 13
' March 4 6 9
April 9 2 22
May 7 8 22
' June 2 9 14
July 18 21 17
August 10 20 NA
September 9 10 NA
' October 7 8 NA
November 3 14 NA
December 9 13 NA

TOTAL
100 118 (103)
°s of ALL CALLS 220 23.20 (21.7%)
' Source: Calabash Emergency Medical Service
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9. Provision of Public Services to the Island and Public Safe v
All of the community facilities discussed above are located on
the mainland of Sunset Beach. It has been suggested by some island
residents that satellite fire and rescue facilities should be
stationed on the island to help reduce the public safety vulnerability
of island residents. Two factors need to b2 considered: the
provision of facilities and the availability of trained manpower.
First of all, the size and location of the island does not warrant
separate facilities. According to Cecil Logan, Fire Marshall for
Brunswick County, the problem is not the location of the fire station
and rescue squad on the mainland, the problem is the bridge and lack
of dependable access to the island. Mr. Logan contends that the
Sunset Beach Fire Station is ideally located because it is about in
the geographic center of its service population and should be located
on the mainland because that is where most of the year-round
population lives. The cost of having satellite fire and rescue
stations and duplicate equipment just 1 to 2 miles away from the
central fire station and about 4 miles from the central rescue station __
is beyond the limits of these volunteer organizations as well as far
exceeds fire-fighting and rescue standards. Again, Mr. Logan contends
the problem is the bridge, not the location of the fire and rescue
stations or the lack of satellite facilities.
Professional manpower is another problem. Both the fire and
rescue services now functioning in Sunset Beach are volunteer
organizations. None of these volunteers are currently Sunset Beach
residents. Volunteers would still have the problem of crossing the
bridge to get to the satellite facilities and the scene of the
emergency. Providing equipment alone solves only part of the problem.
Hiring professional fireman and rescue personnel would also be needed.
However, even if these expensive measures were taken, public safety
would still be diminished by the current pontoon bridge because there
would always be the possibility that the bridge could be closed for
vehicular traffic during an emergency thereby prohibiting assistance
from getting to th_e scene as well as trapping the ambulance on the
island.

26
' C. ENVIRONMENTAL CON EOUENCES
This section of the report discusses the probable effects, both
' positive and negative, on the social environment from each of the
proposed bridge alternatives. The No-Build Alternative was compared
against the three selected design alternatives of W-1 (a high-level
' fixed span bridge replacement in the Western Corridor), C-1 ( a high-
level fixed span bridge replacement the Center Corridor), and C-4 (a
mid-level bascule bridge replacement in the Center Corridor). This
' discussion highlights the probable effects of these alternatives.
1. Relocation or Displacement of Existing Land Uses
' ~ All of the bridge replacement alternatives involve displacement
of several residences, commercial establishments, or golf course
development. The extent of relocation is to be determined by Greiner,
' Inc. None of the alternatives cause extensive displacements and there
should be no major disruption to neighborhoods or the community. All
three bridge replacement alternatives will displace the unofficial __
boat launching area along Sunset Boulevard (the causeway road) on the
' island. This traditional small boat launching area is very important
to many local boaters and its proposed displacement was protested
during the 1980's public review. Therefore, any bridge replacement
alternative should consider incorporating a boat ramp facility in its
design. Moreover, the bridge and approaches should be designed with
the needs of vehicles towing boats in order to avoid the traffic
congestion problems associated with the Holden Beach bridge. The W-1
alternative will impact a Sea Trail championship golf course. The
beautification areas in the commercial strip near the pontoon bridge
may be affected by the two center corridor alternatives. No other
' community facilities such as churches, schools, cemeteries, and
governmental facilities are directly impacted by the construction of
the proposed bridge alternatives.
' 2 Considerations for Public Safetx
' As discussed in the previous sections of this report, town, fire,
police, and rescue officials contend that permanent access between the
island and the mainland maximizes public safety. Conversely, any
access interruption to the island caused by bridge openings diminishes
' public safety. The frequency of bridge closures for vehicular traffic
is an important factor to consider when evaluating the bridge
alternatives. Table 1.12 states the findings of the "Vessel Height
and Traffic Report, February 1994" prepared by Greiner. This report
analyzes the height of vessels passing thru the Sunset Beach bridge
between August 21 and August 27 (Phase I-Summer) and between October
22 and October 31, 1993 (Phase II-Fall). The findings of this report
' give an indication of the frequency of future bridge openings for boat
traffic for the mid-level and low-level bascule bridge alternatives
and the current pontoon bridge if one assumes that the volume of
waterway traffic and the size of vessels will remain constant over the
years. Actually, the number of bridge openings may rise if the volume
of commercial and pleasure boating along the Intracoastal Waterway

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expands paralleling population growth or if the height of vessels
traveling along the Intracoastal Waterway increases.
TABLE 1.12• AVERA E DAILY BRIDGE OPENIN-.S FOR BOAT TRAFFI
BRIDGE DESIGN SUMMER FALL AVERAGE
HIGH-LEVEL 0 0 0
(65 FEET)
MID-LEVEL BASCULE 3.3 8.5 6.2
(30 FEET)
LOW-LEVEL BASCULE 6.3 10.5 $,6
(15-16 FEET)
PONTOON 10.0 11.1 10.6
Source: "Vessel Height and Traffic Report, February 1994", Greiner,
Inc.
The 65 foot high-level fixed span bridge provides a fixed link
between the island and the mainland and is overall a better design in
terms of public safety. A high-level fixed span bridge will not be
prone to mechanical problems as would either the mid-level or low-
level bascule designs or the current pontoon bridge. The only
foreseeable times that a high-level fixed span bridge would be closed
would be during hurricane-force winds or because of a severe traffic
accident. All pleasure and commercial vessels would also have clear
passage along the Intracoastal Waterway.
A mid-level 30 ft. bascule bridge on the average would have to
open 6 to 7 times a day for boat traffic. It is interesting to note
that a mid-level bridge may only have to open 3 to 4 times a day
during the peak summer season because 84.1 percent of all vessels
during Phase I of the survey would be able to pass under the mid-level
bridge. Amid-level bridge would have to open on demand for-most
commercial vessels and would open more frequently during the Fall and
Spring migration of larger pleasure vessels up and down. the
Intracoastal Waterway. On the average, 62.5 percent of all boats
would be able to pass under the 30 foot bascule bridge.
A low-level 15 to 16 foot bridge on the average would have to
open 8 to 9 times a day for boat traffic. The low-level bridge may
have to open 6 to 7 times a day during the peak summer season because
68.7 percent of all vessels should be able to pass under the bridge.
On the other hand, only 18.6 percent of all vessels would be able to
pass under the bridge during the Fall and Spring migration of larger
pleasure boats and the low-level bascule bridge would have to open 10
to 11 times a day. Most commercial vessels would require bridge
openings on demand.
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28
In contrast, there is no major seasonal variation in the number
of bridge openings with the current pontoon bridge because almost all
boats regardless of their size require a bridge opening. The pontoon
bridge would have to open 10 to 11 times a day throughout the year.
Traffic congestion caused by bridge openings is another
consideration. The problems associated with traffic congestion and
the current pontoon bridge have been discussed previously. The C-4
bascule bridge in the center corridor will have back-up congestion
during bridge openings. Of course, a two-lane bridge replacement
would have less congestion than the current pontoon bridge for three
reasons. First of all, there will be less vehicles stopped by the
bridge openings because there will no longer be the waiting period
associated with the rotation to cross the one-lane bridge. Vehicles
on the island and mainland will be able to have free access to cross
the bridge until it is closed. Secondly, congestion will clear faster
once the bridge is reopened because there would now be two lanes of
traffic crossing the bridge. Thirdly, there should be fewer bridge
openings with a mid-level bridge.
During bridge openings, traffic would still be snarled at the
intersection of NC 179 and SR 1172. Auxiliary police officers may
still have to be stationed to control peak summer traffic. This
congestion could also block the Sunset Beach Volunteer Fire Station.
Of course, the extent of the congestion problems will be more severe
during the peak summer travel times.
All three bridge replacement alternatives use basically the same.
approach route on the island. Traffic will probably back-up along SR
1172 and should not affect traffic flow on the island.
The two high-level bridge alternatives would not have back-up
congestion problems associated with bridge closings as with the C-4
bascule alternative. However, during the peak summer season, all
bridge replacement alternatives may have delay problems at the bridge
approach intersections on the mainland.
A third consideration is the probability of bridge closures
because of mechanical failure, extreme tide conditions, and severe
weather. High-level fixed span bridges would not have to be closed
because of mechanical failure. High-level bridges would only be
closed with extreme, hurricane force winds and traffic accidents.
Bascule bridges would be prone to mechanical problems and it is an
engineering decision as to the probability of mechanical failure.
Bascule bridges will not open for boat traffic with winds ranging from
35 to 50 mph, but would remain open for vehicular traffic during these
storm conditions. The mid-level bridge replacement would not be
vulnerable to extreme tide conditions as occurs with the current
pontoon bridge.
In terms of public safety, the high-level fixed span bridge
alternatives provide permanent access between the island and the
mainland which facilitates 24-hour service by emergency vehicles as

29
' well as possible evacuation efforts. Response time by emergency
vehicles would not be impacted by congestion problems associated with
bridge openings. For these reasons, a high-level fixed span bridge is
' considered the best alternative by current town and public safety
officials.
' 3 Probable Imx~act on Neighborhoods by Bridg.~ Related Traffic
One of the bridge alternatives may precipitate greater traffic
volumes in existing neighborhoods. The W-1 alternative now links the
bridge access with an intersection to Shoreline Drive near Barnacle
Bill's. Basically, this was the same approach presented previousily
in the 1980's. According to the Town Manager, numerous Shoreline
' Woods and Seaside residents expressed concern at previous public
hearings that thru traffic would follow along Shoreline Drive thru
their neighborhood, rather than turning onto Sunset Boulevard (NC
' 179) .
4 Considerations Rela ing to Pedestrians and Bicycles
' Pedestrians and bicyclists now cross the pontoon bridge and the
bridge alternatives should be designed to allow such use to continue.
' ~. Community Cohesion
The current Sunset Beach Bridge and possible replacement is the
' focus of continuing community debate. Public opinion about the
floating pontoon bridge is basically divided into three factions.
First, there are the advocates who support the bridge and want it
to be maintained. The Sunset Beach Taxpayers Association is the major
advocacy group. The Environmental Impact Statement arose out of court
action initiated by the Sunset Beach property owners and the Sunset
Beach Taxpayers Association who protested the construction of the
high-level fixed span bridge. The proponents of maintaining the
current bridge favor the "quaintness of the pontoon bridge" which
serves as a scenic and unique gateway to the island; that the
' bridgetender functions as a "gatekeeper'} to the island thereby
deterring crime; that the one-lane bridge curtails high-density
development on the island which in turns reduces water pollution,
' traffic volumes, and population growth; and therefore, the one-lane
bridge enhances the "family-orientation", scenic beauty, natural
environment, and wildlife of the island.
' During a September 30, 1993 interview, the current President of
the Sunset Beach Taxpayers Association (SBTA) stated the SBTA Board of
Directors' position was that the current pontoon bridge should be
' maintained if possible and if not, that the Board supported the
construction of a two-lane, low-level bridge in the Center Corridor.
It should be noted that this is the position of the 7 members of the
SBTA Board, because as of September 4, 1994 the SBTA membership had
not yet voted on an official bridge position.
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It is interesting to note that Minnie Hunt, plaintiff in the
court action and SBTA Board member, ran for Mayor of Sunset Beach in
November of 1993. In a newspaper political advertisement, Ms. Hunt
stated that she supported "An Improved Bridge: Town government that
will provide us with an improved, two-lane bridge and takes steps now
to ease bridge traffic congestion."
Other town residents as well as town and public safety officials
advocate improved access to the island in order to promote public
safety and the welfare of island residents and visitors. The bridge
replacement proponents also consider Sunset Beach to be a "family
beach" and want. the new bridge in order to protect the welfare of
their families. Bridge proponents, likewise, do not think that a new
bridge will affect the character or rate of development.
Thirdly, there is a faction who have a "love, hate" relationship
with the floating bridge. An example of this attitude is best summed
up by a conversation with a Calabash grandmother and her granddaughter
who were interviewed during the Preliminary Beach Visitor Survey in __
July, 1994. This grandmother choose to go to Sunset Beach for a beach
visit because it was the closest beach to Calabash. She said she had
learned how to time her beach visits in order to avoid the bridge
congestion. Whereas she said she like the pontoon bridge, her
granddaughter spilled out, "But Grandma, I thought you hated that
stupid old bridge!" Actually, this "love, hate" relationship with the
pontoon bridge is very common -- people "love" the quaintness of the
bridge when their waiting time is minimal, but "hate" the bridge when
delayed.
There is a sense that public opinion among this indecisive
faction may be shifting towards bridge replacement. Numerous
residents were distraught over the March 13, 1993 storm episode as
well as the June 1992 episode when a fire truck was not able to
respond to a brush fire on the island because the bridge was opened
for a "commercial/pleasure" boat. Traffic congestion during the peak
summer season is becoming more severe and is exceeding the tolerance
level of~-many residents and visitors.
Public opinion was divided in surveys conducted with the 1986 and
1992 LAMA Land Use Plan Updates. In the 1986 planning survey, the
following question was asked: "Do you feel that a high level bridge to
allow a flow of vehicular traffic uninterrupted would be justified in
the interest of public health and safety?" To this question, 32
responded yes; 35 responded no; and 4 gave no response.
The bridge replacement issue was also a divisive planning issue
during the 1992 LAMA planning process. At a public meeting on March
26 ,1992 participants were evenly divided on this issue as shown by
the fact that "Build New Bridge" received 15 votes while "Maintain
Current Bridge" received 15 votes.
The April 1992 survey addressed the bridge issue with several
questions. The current pontoon bridge was listed as a major problem
by 44 respondents, as a minor problem by 18, and not a problem by 45

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31
respondents. The following question was also asked: "What is your
preference for a bridge to the island?" To this question, 57
responded that the one-lane bridge should be maintained; 27 responded
that a high-level fixed span bridge should be built; 29 responded that
a two-lane bridge should be built; and 4 gave no response. Note that
48 percent wanted some type of new bridge to be built as compared to _
49 percent who wanted to maintain the current bridge. Concern over
the current bridge was also expressed when respondents evaluated fire
and rescue services as well as evacuation planning. The bridge was
viewed as a deterrent to providing adequate protection.
It should be noted that both the 1986 and 1992 surveys were
written questionnaires mailed out to Sunset Beach and ETA residents
and property owners. The response to these surveys were voluntary.
In this sense, the surveys were not "scientific" surveys and these
findings reveal the opinions of just those who responded and reflects
the participants' thinking as of the time that they responded.
What is the current public opinion about the Sunset Beach Bridge? _
As of September, 1994 there has not been a scientific survey done to
ascertain public opinion concerning whether the bridge should be
replaced. Whether to replace the current pontoon bridge has always
been the subject of community debate and realistically, probably
always will be a divisive community issue.
1

x
H
Z
W
a
a
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1

SUNSET BEACH BRIDGE REPLACEMENT
"JANUARY 20, 1995 BARGE COLLISION WITH SUNSET BEACH BRIDGE"
On Friday, January 20, 1995 at 11:06 am, the Sunset Beach Bridge was severely damaged
by a tug pushing a 196-foot containment barge through the open bridge span. The tugboat
Pegasus and barge Bulk Spirit were headed east towards Wilmington, NC when the barge struck
the pontoon section of the bridge, completely severing all moorings.
The pontoon span along with the bridgetender and five NCDOT maintenance workers actually
floated half a mile up the Waterway towards Ocean Isle before being retrieved by the tugboat.
No one was injured during the collision.
Due to the extensive damage, the bridge was closed to both vehicular and waterway traffic
for differing periods of time. Bridge access for all vehicular traffic was halted immediately at the
time of the barge collision. Light vehicular traffic was restored at 3:00 pm Saturday the 21st.
Heavy trucks and school buses were not allowed to cross the bridge until Wednesday morning,
January 25, nearly 92 hours after the collision. Waterway traffic was still able to pass through
the bridge opening immediately after the accident until Saturday morning when bridge repairs
forced closure to waterway traffic until Tuesday, January 24 at 8:00 am.
The impact of the 1995 barge collision was as follows:
* Damage to the Bridge: The damage to the bridge was severe. The bridge pivot arm
which enables the bridge to swing open was destroyed; the floating pontoon barge suffered impact
damage; the wooden approach had structural damage; and the electrical operating system was
dismantled when the pontoon bridge floated away. Approximately 70 NCDOT personnel spent
1,539 manhours repairing the bridge during the following weeks. As of March 31,1995, the total
cost for bridge repairs including materials, equipment, and manhours was $154,507.35 according
to the NCDOT. Of course, this amount does not include the cost of litigation if the case goes to
court.
* Day Visitors: The exact count of day visitors and construction workers stranded on the
island is not known. Chief Buell of the Sunset Beach Police Department estimates that there could
have been as many as 400 to 500 people stranded on the island. The accident posed a major
inconvenience for many. Tourists from Illinois who were staying at a North Myrtle Beach condo
came to the island for a visit and were stranded. Brunswick County officials arranged for a
schoolbus to take the six visitors back to South Carolina. For the most part, people took the
incident in stride, although a few angry visitors accosted public officials and volunteers.
* Fly Service: A temporary ferry service operated during the period that the bridge was
closed to light vehicular traffic. Volunteers from the Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle Volunteer Fire
Departments and the Shallotte Rescue Squad operated the ferry service from 1:00 pm to 9:30 pm

1

1

on Friday and then on Saturday from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm until the bridge was opened for light
vehicular traffic. Several volunteers manned the temporary ferry station throughout Friday night
in case there was an emergency. No count was taken of the number of people who utilized the
ferry service.
* F~merg nary rvi c: Public officials were very concerned about the provision of fire,
rescue, and police services to the island. A Sunset Beach Police Office and three Sunset Beach
Volunteer firemen were stationed on the island from Friday noon thru Sunday morning. The
firefighters only had a limited amount of hand-held equipment until 3:00 pm Saturday when a
small fire engine was the first vehicle to cross the bridge. It would not have been possible for
larger fire engines to cross the bridge until Wednesday morning when the bridge was finally
opened for truck traffic. Consequently, firefighting capabilities were extremely limited from the
time of the barge collision until Wednesday morning of January 25. Police and rescue services
were able to resume normal operations by Saturday afternoon when the bridge was opened to light
vehicular traffic.
A public service hotline operated from at the Town Hall from the time of the incident
through 9:30 pm Friday night and again on Saturday from 7:00 am unti14:00 pm.
* School Trans nation: School transportation services were disrupted from Friday noon
until Wednesday afternoon, January 25, when school buses were once again able to cross the
bridge. On Friday, Jan. 21, three out of the 14 schoolchildren who live on the island were ferried
across the Waterway to get back home. Families of the other schoolchildren made alternative
arrangements. Many families choose to find temporary residence on the mainland until the bridge
was reopened for light vehicular traffic. The Brunswick County school system arranged for a
temporary bus stop on the mainland by the bridge until schoolbuses were once again able to cross
the bridge on Wednesday afternoon. Families were responsible to get their children to the
temporary bus stop on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
* Public Services: The Town of Sunset Beach provides water service, building inspection,
police protection, and garbage collection services to the island. Provision of routine water service
was not hindered by the bridge closure; however, it would have been difficult to do any repairs
if so needed. The Town Building Inspector was one of those stranded on the island. He had to
abandon the town truck when he finally was able to leave the island on Friday. This town truck
was then used by the Sunset Beach police officer who was stationed on the island during the bridge
closure. With the exception of trash collection, the Town was able to resume normal operations
on the island when the bridge was reopened for light vehicular traffic on Saturday afternoon.
Trash collection to the island could not be provided until Wednesday, January 25 when the bridge
was reopened to truck traffic.
* Disruption of Business: Construction on the 14 new houses on the island was the major
business affected by the bridge closure. The extent of the construction delay depended upon the
stage of construction and whether the builder had to wait upon the delivery of building supplies
until Wednesday. The Town Hall received several anonymous complaints supposedly from

building contractors about how the bridge closure for heavy trucks had halted their construction
and consequently, was costing them money.
The Island Grocery, a small convenience store on the island, was initially closed at the time
of the barge collision. However, the owner reopened the store during the bridge closure in order
to service island residents. The store, given its closure for several weeks, basically did not have
supplies of perishable food to sell. Many island residents still made arrangements to leave the
island in order to buy groceries.
* Damage to the Environment: None of the 375,000 gallons of diesel fuel aboard the
barge leaked during the incident, although the accident put a hole in the front end of the barge.
Consequently, a major environmental accident was avoided and there was no damage to the
environment according to the United States Coast Guard.
* Disruption of Waterway Traffic: The Sunset Beach Bridge was closed to waterway traffic
from Saturday morning until Tuesday morning at 8:00 am. Discussions with the United States
Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the North Carolina State Port Authority revealed
that no records were maintained which would disclose the number of commercial and pleasure
crafts which were delayed by the bridge closure to waterway traffic. Several sailboats and yachts
moored themselves within sight of the bridge during the closure. However, other vessels would
have docked at marinas and other facilities during the bridge closure. Consequently, it would not
be possible to ascertain from the bridge location itself how many vessels were delayed. The delay
could have been very costly for commercial vessels such as tugboats which charge between $120
to $200 per hour. One way to estimate the number of vessels delayed is by examining the bridge
log records for similar periods prior to and after the bridge closure. Table 1.1 states the number
of bridge openings as well as the number of commercial and pleasure vessels which passed
through the Sunset Beach bridge for the two similar Saturday thru Monday periods prior to and
after the barge collision. During these periods, there was an average of 17.3 bridge openings for
7 commercial vessels and 14.3 pleasure craft.

1 the temporary ferry service was operational. Table 2.1 states the estimate of volunteer support
during this incident according to Cecil Logan of the Brunswick County Emergency Management
Coordinator and Chief T.J. Lyle of the Sunset Beach Volunteer Fire Department. Volunteers
served approximately 606 hours during the bridge emergency. A key question is what is the value
of this volunteer time. Neither Mr. Logan or Chief Lyle had an estimate of the value of volunteer
' labor during an emergency. However, Mr. Dan Summers of the New Hanover County
Emergency Management Agency has used an estimate of $18.00 per hour for volunteer
firefighters. Using this figure, the volunteer manhours would be valued at $10,908. The
' volunteers contribution should not be taken lightly. According to Chief Lyle, many of his
volunteers actually forsook their regular employment to assist during this emergency.
' TABLE 2.1: ESTIMATE OF VOLUNTEER MANHOURS DURING SUNSET BEACH
BRIDGE EMERGENCY

AGENCY MEMBERS HOURS SERVED
Brunswick County Emergency Management 2 52
Sunset Beach VFD 15 344
Ocean Isle Beach VFD 5 62
Shallotte VRS 7 40
Coastline VRS 5 12
Calabash VRS 3 12
Brunswick County Bus Garage 3 12
Other Volunteer Help 4 20
TOTAL . 44 606
' Sources: Mr. Cecil Logan, Brunswick County Emergency Management and Chief T.J. Lyle
of the Sunset Beach Volunteer Fire Department
1
This barge collision occurred nearly a decade after the Sunset Beach bridge had been struck
' by the tugboat Angela M. Many of the public safety issues identified with the 1985 barge
collision are relevant today. First, the relatively narrow bridge opening for water traffic still
makes the current bridge more vulnerable to collision. According to U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Karl
' Delooff, the fact that the Sunset Beach Bridge is low to the water makes it more difficult for
tugboat captains to maneuver thru the bridge opening because the boat captains have no visual
reference point. In fact, the Pegasus tugboat captain was cleared of negligence charges during an

1

administrative hearing of the United States Coast Guard Marine Safety Office on Thursday, March
16, 1995. A NCDOT maintenance worker who was on the bridge at the time of the collision
testified that steady winds of about 25 mph created unusual and dangerous current conditions
which would have made the barge difficult to handle and that the accident was "as close to an act
of nature as you were going to get."
As with the 1985 bridge emergency, it required an enormous effort to provide minimal public
safety and services during the time the bridge was out. Fortunately, no fires or medical
emergencies occurred during either incident. It was also fortunate that both barge collisions
occurred during the month of January when there are less residents and day visitors on the island
and fewer vessels on the Intracoastal Waterway as opposed to the peak summer season.
In fact, some public officials fear that the relatively smooth operation of the ferry system
' and provision of public services during the emergency actually add to a false sense security among
many island residents.

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' Emergency Phone:
579-7474

1

CALABASH VOLUNTEER E.M.S., Inc.
P.O. Bo: 4711
Calabash, North Carolina 28459
February 18, 1991
The Honorable Mason Barber
Mayer
Sunset Beach, NC 28459
Dear Mayor Barber:
Business Phone:
S79-T47S
I'm writing ~ron behalf of myself as a concerned
citizen and als• in the capacity of Chief •f Calabash
Emergency Medical Service in reference to our need of
another type of bridge as access to the Island of
Sunset Beach.
In the summper especially, we have many calls for
help on the Island.C The traffic is always backed up at
the bridge and we~~~o make our way on the wrong side of
the road, not only delaying our response time, but
endangering our •wn lives and ambulance.
There was a time in the past that •uz ambulance
was held up on the Island with bridge allowing water
traffic t• pass and we bad a critical heart patient
•n board and consequently the patient died. We do
not want this incident repeated, but with the bridge
eve now have, it is only a matter of time when this
will occur.
Being an. EMT and trying to save lives is very
stressful, without the stress •f knowing eve can't het
t• a patient on the Island because of the bridge being
impassable due to mechanical, the tide toe high or
traffic congestion.
We need a bridge worse than we need turtles and
some species •f birds , which will continue to be here
anyway.
Thanks far your cooperation in the past and lsok
forward to serving the people of Sunset Beach in the
future .
Sincerely,
Calabash Vol. EMS
~ //
Lisa S. Angstadt, Chief

1 ~ , ~ . ST^T~~,.
1 ~~ ..~ G
~~ t
1~ ; ~'
V ~ .
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA E C E~ v E
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
1 RALEIGH 27611 •~PCy ~ ~'~~5
January 12 , 19 8 5 T~~.~Spo~-a'i:
1 JAMES G. MARTIN ~..artm°"~ °~ ~-t; c;=~'!
GOVERNOR C -'' t 1:•= `
p:ti':.,
i
1' Dear Secreta Harrin
ry gton:
1 I have been informed of extensive damage inflicted on the
state highway system bridge crossing the Intracoastal Water-
way along SR 1172 in Brunswick County which provides highway
1 access to Sunset Beach. As you know, this damage resulted
from a vessel collision with the bridge on January 12, 1985.
Because of this accident, the bridge has been closed to all
vehicular traffic.
1 ~ The. bridge closure will r
esult in extreme social and economic
hardship to the citizens living in the Sunset Beach area.
1 Since this bridge provided the only ingress and egress to
the island, its closure will have severe adverse effects on
existing businesses, medical services, schools, disposal of
1 solid waste, law enforcement and other necessary activities,
and emergency services.
Accordingly, I am declaring this situation to be a "State of
1 Emergency", and hereby direct the Department of Transportation
to carry out the necessary repairs as expeditiously as
possible. I am further directing the Department to make
1 immediate application for any federal financial assistance
for which we are eligible.
1 My best personal regards.

1 Mr. James E. Harrington
Secretary
1 N. C. Department of
P. O. Box 25201
Raleigh, N. C. 27611
1
Sincerely,
Transportation
i!~~a~-~

1Jtilith bridge to :'island out,.,;; •; .
'' ~ n•d difficult to reac~~_.~,
~nainla
;:,
.,
`i SUNSET BEACH (AP);~^- For ,:,•re~idents'Sunday ' a,ternoop•, •,.~,
~wlnter residents and weekend • ; discuss ,their .needs • and ; detail ',,:
visitors waiting In their cars on the • transportallon errangemenls,,tor.,.i~.'=.
island,, the ,mainland • at, this g DOT owlll t rry residents'( care"• i ~'
southern Brunswick County beach pcYoss thp,';waterw$Y •,and,.get;,;°•.,-
' town Is only a stone's throw pwaY• ' •
But with, the town's splint0red ,, ,: children to ;school, department'?.~,
,spokesman Jim Sughruo said, The' ~~.
I pontoon awing-bridge under repair,' ,
'he distance may as well be mhea: ,t~, ; terry, whl,ch can carry seven cars, ' L,
The 65-foot tugboat Angela M.; .. case schedulCd. to leaysse.:,lhQ `,;,
caned by. Seatow Inc. Qt Virginia !'mainland for 1 Sulnc~tesaid aboat•~'~•
~ Beach, Va., was pushing a barge..'.; 8:30a.m.foday, g
laden with Plpe when It blew off' :~•~•wcreonthelslandboi~ p m>,nent;~•;::
.course and knocked out,a 68-fopt ,
section of lhp only bridge to the ~ .residents and 200 "v.lsltors ; or .~.,
island about 11:30 a.m, Saturday:, :vacationers." tIowegeF, ,• MaYoP;:,
On Sunday, state ,Department of ~ ;. Pro-Tam Ed Gore sand ,lher@; pre,:
?ranaportation • workers. • began ;about 60wihtertlmercaldolila;.r , ,:
repairs as , p team of DOT and ~ ': "So tar, we heyen~t $a~d °laiand
emergency otticlals devised plena • ~ work at 5:90 a.m„
for getting cars across the Atlantic , • resident L. Eugene Po rocerles tSo '
lnlracoastal Waterwpy: y ~'we haven't had to buy.g
hack Edgerton, :DOT. grldde ;~ tar the kids haven't had to go /q '•
malnlenanCe superlntendont, ilchool." • • • •
estimated damage at.;110,000 to Sorge •rpddents 'aid thoy work.
;1zs,oo0; late at ~ night and often roturn;.
.,,.No, one 'case iniured in the • around midnight. Thal concoRnod .~•
accident, but DOT o[ficials said it state officials trying to' set up a •
would be two weeks before the temlbmorrowrs (Mond,ay)'going to .
bridge reopens. .Meanwhile, •'be'a wait-and-see day for residents
esidenla of the •i~•-mile-long
IIrunswlck County Island will use and visllSughrue said. DOT and
ferry services to get on and oft the other state and local people have
Island, of[iclals apld,
'Cho only gmergoncy repotted late ' got things sal up to bogin terry
Sunday was a men trYing ~ sawloe (hfonday)," using a'rtate~
:frantically to reach a mainland owned,, surplus, military ~ landing
„ilpspital where his wife was having craft... ,.
a baby, Bald Chie[ Charles Fowler; Sughrue so~DOTto collect the
of the Waccamaw Rescue Squad. It •• terry aa~~~~,, , • seachda
wasn't known ff the man was lsland'~~''clp~~ed [ram Bald
~~u(Ccesstul in reaching his wife. +,. ; ~ A barge`, • i ~ dchvered a fire
;•~~ Sunset Beach of[icials met r~fi.fix.~Head. Islandl~.,
.. -~

~; <
. __ _ z.,, .---
••,,•~, ~ ti• , '
' •' .: , '
Officials check damage ~to the
• Sunset.:I3each,.yesterday,•after
truck to the island before becoming
stuck on a 'sandbar during its
~secohd trip about 6 p.m. Sunday pl'
Local. reaouo squads ferried
people adrpas lho waterway with ~
14-toot',"'boat non•stap during ,
daylight hours Sunday. A National
Guard helicopter was flown from
• Raleigh=Durham Airport to the
island Saturday night to provide
emergency medical evacuation. -
only. bridge 'to •
~ tugboat hit it
,Saturday knocking out '6& tifeel of • the span.
Repairs are expected to take shout two weeks.
• "There's gong to be soma delays '
with getting oft ,.the island"
Sughrue ¢afd. "Wo,trankly eicpect.
some, problems tomorrow .., Bul.
we're going to try (o take care of
everybo~y'r needs,"
'Cha pgntoon,rwing brldgo «11otv~ ~,
only one car to cross the Atlantic,
Ocean Intracoastal Waterway at a
lime: The peoplo on the island will '
use the ferry serv[ces provided by
local and state 'rescue workers,
Sughrue said.
Nill 'said residents will have
around-the-clock police and tiro
prolecllon. Cecil Logan, emergency
management coordinator for
Brunswick County, said an
' omorgenoy vehicle war standing by
on the mglntand rido of Iha brldgo,
along with two boats, one from the
Shallotle Rescue Sryuad and one
[ram lho Brunswick County
Shcr•itf's Department. '
~~ ,~ . ,..
~q9}• ~1 ~ ~' 'Zr~' !'age 6-The Dally Advanee, 6U:abelh Cily, N:C., Monday, January 11, IaaS
• q .
`:~ti. i ~: ~• •
,x ~ __,_

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_-,_ _ PAGE 4-A, THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1992
Delay Of_
At Bridge
Concern Both Sides
Regardless of where residents of Sunset Beach stand on the
bridge issue, they should all have been concerned about last
week's delay of firefighters trying to respond to a blaze on the is-
land.
Firefighters had just returned from assisting at an Ocean Isle
Beach fire when they received a call of their own. A youngster
had set fire to pampas grass with a smoke bomb. But the fire-
fighters were forced to wait for the bridge to close because a non-
commercial vehicle was passing in what at first looked like a vio-
lation of the N.C. Department of Transportation schedule for
opening the span. Luckily, a volunteer firefighter on the island
had extinguished the blaze with a garden hose by the time the
truck arrived. Only the grass had burned.
The firefighters had assumed there was no need to radio the
bridge, since they had an unobstructed view of the waterway and
saw nothing coming but what looked like a pleasure craft. It was
8:20 a.m. and, during the day, noncommercial boats are sup-
posed to be allowed through only on the hour unless there's an
emergency. They say they won't make any such assumptions in
-the future.
Town officials say boaters who don't care to wait until the top
of the hour have learned they can falsely identify themselves as
commercial vessels and get the span opened. The law requires the
bridgetender to open up for any vessel identifying itself as com-
mercial, even if the boat belongs to a yachtsman who is just tak-
ing acouple of paying customers out for a day trip. No proof is
required, and no verification is logistically possible at this point.
It's a fact that Americans are an impatient bunch. We hate to
be kept waiting-for appointments,. for traffic, for drawbridges,,
and especially for help to arive. Arid many`of t~s will'~o~o grea"~
lengths to avoid it. -This loophole in the law, of which boaters
have apparently Teamed to take great advantage, should be
closed. Any threat to life or property should have higher priority
than the right of pleasure boaters-even paying customers-to
pass through the waterway without waiting.
Whether to build ahigh-rise span at Sunset Beach or to keep
the quaint but sometimes maddening pontoon bridge is an issue
about which the island's residents are staunchly and evenly livid-
- ed. It is both a literal and figurative representation of the bigger
issue dividing the two camps-whether or not to remove a fairly
effective obstacle to more rapid development. Any event involy-
ing the bridge is likely to strike a nerve on Sunset Beach and to
provoke some hyperbole. But the simple point of this incident
should not be ignored.
The firefighters and the bridgetender certainly were reminded
that, even on what seems to be a routine day on their jobs, it
doesn't pay to take anything for granted. It was windy and warm,
the kind of weather that could easily have fumed a little grass fire
into a tragic loss of property or even lives. But fortune was kind
this time.
F_i_refi hter
Firefighters
_-- -- g s .
Should
Should

1

The Brunswick Beacon, July 9, 1992
Bridgetenders 'Doing Their Job'
When Span Opens On Demand
- BY SUSAN USHER
When is an apparent pleasure boat not a pleasure
boat?
When the captain says it's a commercial vessel.
That's the situation bridgetenders with the N.C.
Department of Transportation find themselves facing not
only at the Sunset Beach Bridge, but at other bridges
across the state that follow an hourly opening schedule.
At Sunset Beach, the pontoon bridge swings opens
to pleasure craft on the hour from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and
on demand from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. By law it must open
even from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on demand to commercial or
govemment vessels, or in an emergency.
The awkwardness of the rules situation was brought
home last week when the Sunset Beach VFD was re-
sponding to a fire on the island. A scan of the Atlantic
Intracoastal Waterway showed only a "pleasure boat" on
the water approaching the bridge, so firefighters didn't
think they needed to call ahead and alert the brid-
"Just as soon as they hear that, they say, `Well, I'm a
commercial craft.'" _
What the bridgetenders can, and on occasion, do is
write up a "report of violation" on a vessel they suspect
is not what it claims to be; any vessel that is commercial
is supposed to be licensed as such. Then it is up to the
Coast Guard to investigate. If the boat is licensed in
North Carolina, the local Coast Guard looks into it; if
not, the complaint may never be investigated, said Cox.
The bridge division typically never hears back if the
vessel is commercial. The only exception in this area of
which Cox is aware was at Wrightsville Beach a few
years ago, when the division was notified it did not have
to open on demand for the vessel. None of the reports
turned in from the Sunset Beach Bridge have resulted in
such a determination.
"We're just trying to do the best we can," said Cox.
`"There's no way w win, whatsoever."
When the tender opens the bridge for what appears
getender of their imminent crossing. Arriving at the
bridge, they found it had opened to allow passage of
what they thought was a pleasure craft.
"It's the same way up and down the coast," said
Robert Cox, district bridge maintenance superintendent.
"By law we can't question whether they are commercial
or pleasure. If a boat comes up and ID's itself as a com-
mercial vessel, we have to let them through. The brid-
getenders are just doing their job.
"A lot of people make a living taking people fishing
on their yachts "
The bridge is required to post signs noting that it
opens on demand to government and commercial ves-
sels.
An approaching boat captain can contact the brid-
getender by radio, horn or flag. If the contact is by radio,
the tender advises that the bridge opens on the hour for
pleasure boats.
to be a pleasure boat, highway motorists get irritated
When boat captains are questioned about whether their
vessels are commercial, that prompts ire as well.
The situation has improved since the state went to
the hourly openings for pleasure craft three or four years
ago, Cox indicated. Back then, the openings wen: "a
constant thing all day long."
"The system works, but it's not a perfect solution,"
he concluded.
A partial solution to the problem, he suggested,
would be to change the boat identification numbers for
commercial vessels licensed in North Carolina, perhaps
requiring visibly larger numbers on the boat or using a
different color, red instead of black. Then bridgetenders
could tell on sight which vessels are commercial or plea-
sure.
That wouldn't help, though, with boats registered
out of state.

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The Br~_answick Beacon October 4, 1992
Bridge. To Close On 5 D"c~r`y~s~
Abnormally High Tides Ford
BY DOUG RUTTER:;:_ . ; hicular, .traffic .last Thursday. from the monthly astronomtcat tiae~ aiiu

Exceptionally high tides fprced
~
.6,45 p;m, to 8 p.m. It was shut down .
the depression," Jahy .said; .. "The
operators to temporarily;.clos~..Sun again Friday. from 7t 10 a.m. to 8:40 were complementing one another
"

ser Beach Bridge to motoristsfive :: a:rrt:Operators also closed the span .
.
Gerald Messer, operators supeivi-
days in the past week and caused Saturday, Sunday and Monday sor at the Sunset Beach Bridge
said
erosion at Holden Beach. mornings for at least an hour each ,
the span must be closed when tides
The one-lane, pontoon bridge at day. lift the floating section of the bridge
Sunset was closed a total of 6 hotus, At Holden Beach, Town Manager 12 inches to 13 inches above the
20 minutes between last Thursday Gary Parker said the abnormally normal high tide mark

night and Monday morning. The
high fides didn't affect traffic but .
The level of the floating bridge
tide never got high enough to re- caused "considerable erosion" at the normally fluctuates 5 12 feet be-
quire aclosing Tuesday. east end of the island. Waves tween low and high tide
Messer
The bridge was first closed to ve- washed away sand near the end of ,
said. When the tide is too high,
Ocean Boulevard East, exposing ramps connecting the fixed portion
protective sandbags and moving of the bridge to the floating section
closer to threatened homes on the aren't safe.
north side of the street. Sunset Beach Police Chief J.B.
"We lost a good bit on that end of Buell said Monday he was con-
the road over the weekend," Parker cerned for the safety of residents and
said Tuesday afternoon. "Pavement visitors who got stranded on the is-
fell in and sand washed away from land.
behind the sandbags." Whenever the bridge is closed,
B.J.: Jahy of the National Weather police cars, ambulances and fire
Service in Wilmington .said tides trucks can't get to the island

.were one to two feet above normal .
"That's the scary part,.nof know-
due to the moon's gravitational pull
` ing what's going to .happen over
and a
tropical depression off the there," Buell said. "It's consistent
Atlantic coast. right now and that's what disturbs
The moon's relative position to me."
the earth caused tides to be 6. t.o 12 Buell said school teachers.and a
inches above average::A depression school bus had to wait to get: off the

off Florida fueled-:persistent easterly .
island last Friday morning. .
and southeasterly winds, which kept "Odds aze something's going to
water from draining when the tide happen sooner or later," he contin-
fell.
"It was really a combination of (See TIDES, Page 2-A)
(Continued From Pagel-A) ~.
tied. "Somebody's going to die over
there."
Buell said the police department
has a boat it can use to get over to
the island if necessary. But when
only one officer is on duty, the de-
partment can't station someone on
the island and leave the mainland
unprotected.
"I'm not saying they need ahigh-
rise over there, but we need some-
thing adequate to get on and off the
island," said Buell.
The N.C. Department of Trans-
pottation had planned to build a
high-rise bridge to the island, but
ran into opposition from some prog-
eny owners who feared it would
lead toover-development.
The DOT is currently working on
a court-ordered environmental im-
pact study which will look at what
effect the proposed bridge would
have.

1

The 8rt.answi ck. Beacon ,
(Continued From Page 1-A)
the day, but Knapp elected to wait
and leave when the bridge reopened.
"The mayor did everything he
could," Knapp said, adding, "I
wouldn't have died if I'd had to wait
until the next morning."
While acknowledging the unpre-
dictable force of Saturday's storm,
Knapp said he doesn't believe the
bridge should be closed to traffic un-
til apolice car is stationed on the is-
land and residents are given the op-
tion to evacuate.
However, the mayor says the
storm made him even more con-
vinced that as long as those kinds of
logistics aze necessary, people's
lives will be in danger.
"It's time to get on with the pro-
gram" of replacing the bridge in the
interest of safety, he said, even if
some residents and property owners
object.
The town council resolved unani-
mously to seek an acceleration of
the court-ordered environment im-
pact statement which must be com-
pleted before construction of a new
bridge can proceed.
Council has the support of new
N.C. Department of Transportation
board member Odell Williamson of
Ocean Isle, in whose honor the
March 1R, 1993
Sunse~Srid e ~ '
g ush ~e .ins A
~ n ever
"People. sat over
there all that time
rtdnning their- ej~gines
forheat ajzdrztnning
outof gas...~'he~~
looked like they'd
been. through he
Battle of the Bulge..."
~IayorMas~n Barber
South Brunswick Islands' first high-
rise bridge was named. "I'm for that
100 percent," Williamson said in a
Tuesday telephone interview, adding
that the present is "a good time to
move, since the president has
pledged to get people working on
roads and bridges."
In his first DOT board meeting
two weeks ago, Williamson had an
additional S 100,000 appropriated to
the Sunset Beach bridge replace-
ment project to cover preliminary
engineering, utilities and right-of-
way costs. Williamson said S 1.8
million has been appropriated so far,
though construction of the bridge is
not currently in the state's
Transportation Improvemen[ Plan.
Thirteen years ago DOT began
making plans to replace the pontoon
swing bridge with a fixed high-rise
span. The proposal met stiff opposi-
tion and was instrumental in the for-
mation of the Sunset Beach Tax-
payers Association, of which Knapp
is a leading member.
In 1990, SBTA won a court battle
aimed at halting construction of the
bridge. U.S. District Judge Earl Britt
ordered the environmental impact
statement and voided all permits al-
ready obtained for the multi-million
project. Estimates are that, at the
current pace, the statement could
take another year or longer to com-
plete.
Last November, DOT staffers at a
public meeting presented townspeo-
ple with plans for several types of
bridges, including drawbridges in
several heights or the fixed high-rise
bridge. Most who turned out said
they want something more efficient
that the existing bridge, but short of
the high-rise span first proposed by
the state.
Damage Estimated
Sunset Beach, with its low ero-
sion rate and broad beach, fared bet-
ter than other South Brunswick
Islands beaches in Saturday's storm.
Building Inspector Danny Cordell
estimated damage to structures at
5200,000 and erosion damage at
S30,000. An average 10 feet of dune
was lost on the east end, but "the
west end held," he said.
Overwash from the marshes and
waterway made it necessary for the
causeway to be graded after the
storm.

' The Brunswick Beac-an, March 1A, 1993
1 Push For New Bridge At Sunser
~ Renewed After Cars Are Stranded

BY LYNN CARLSON
After 100 cars carrying day visi-
tors were stranded on the island of
Sunset Beach for more than nine
hours Saturday, the town council has
asked for a renewed push toward re-
placing the old-and controver-
sial-pontoon bridge.
"People sa[ over there all that
time running their engines for heat
and running out of gas," Mayor
Mason Barber said. "I was there
when they came back across, and
they looked like they'd been through
the Battle of the Bulge."
The bridge cannot be safely oper-
ated in winds higher than 30 miles
an hour, Barber said. Orders came
from the N.C. Department of Trans-
portation to swing the structure open
and tie it off at 12:30 p.m., as winds
began to howl and the wind-driven
tide reached flood stage.
The water went down, but the
wind did not subside enough for the
bridge to be used unti19:30 p.m.
The storm escalated rapidly, be-
ginning Saturday with apre-dawn
thunderstorm and stiff winds,
though by mid-morning the sun was
shining and the temperature in the
60's. However, the barometer
dropped and winds increased, dri-
~~ing the mid-day high tide out of the
hounds of canals, marshes and wa=
terways. By early evening, the tem-
perature was falling toward freezing.
Many had assumed the early
storm was all there would be; by the
time the need to evacuate could be
considered, it couldn't logistically
be done.
"We had five minutes' warning
that we had to tie off the bridge,"
said Sunset Beach Town Admin- _
istrator Linda Fluegel. That time
was used to dispatch a tire truck and
fire fighter-who is also a Shallotte
police officer and emergency med-
ical technician-to the island.
Ironically, one person in need of
help during the bridge closure was
one of the most vocal opponents of
the proposal to replace the span with
a high-rise bridge. Warren D. "Bud"
Knapp Sr., a 75-year-old diabetic
who recently underwent surgery, got
caught at his island house without
insulin.
"We went over to check on things
when we heard that 30 mile-an-hour
winds were forecast, and we thought
we were on an outgoing tide," said
Knapp, whose other residence is in
Carolina Shores. Knapp's family
contacted the mayor for help later in
(See SUNSET, Page 2-A)

1

~~ { ~..
~~~~ ~~~~
- ~ =;-F-~
4 ,. ~~- ,~ . ~ r .~ . a,, ~~`` >
~. '~'
_•~ -~, • x
1
i~
STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
HIGH WINDS and high water forced closure of the floating Sunset Beach Bridge to vehicular trafftc
without notice shortly after noon Saturday. The state Department of Transportation requires that the
bridge be swung open during winds exceeding 30 miles an hour to prevent the span from being dam-
aged About 100 day visitors were stranded on the island for nine hours, according to Mayor Mason
Barber.

the~3runswick Beacon, itiiay j, 199.
La '
st Wednesda D~ r
~ s u ted Plans
Y p __
Extended sunset B-rid a Closin
1 g g

1

BY SUSAN USHER
A scheduled two-hour shutdown of the Sunset
Beach Bridge last Wednesday lasted several hours
longer than intended, disrupting plans made around the
closing and upsetting people who wanted to get on or off
the island by vehicle.
The bridge was to be closed to vehicular traffic from
10 a.m. until noon to allow maintenance work by a state
Department of Transportation crew. The delay occurred
because a hose blew, spraying concrete mix and slightly
injuring three workers, he said. The interrupted work
was resumed at 1 p.m.
Students, on early dismissal from school, and others
who crossed the bridge on foot were shuttled to their
homes by a police officer stationed on the island.
An officer is on the island during any scheduled
closing. Fire and rescue units have the option of station-
ingpersonnel and equipment there.
"A lot of people came to get across to the island at 1
p.m. and couldn't," Buell said. "I don't think anyone
would. have been ill if they (DOT) had finished on
time."
Buell said the bridge to the island was out of service
20.5 hours during April in scheduled and unscheduled
shutdowns.
~ Abnormally High Tide Puts
~ Sunset Motorists In Limbo

i

1
A combination of a lunar high tide and strong winds
from offshore temporarily stranded Sunset Beach mo-
torists on either side of the bridge both Saturday and
Sunday evenings. ,~~,_~,, ..,~.~ ,t
For several hours both days nearly a C~J7e =o~
foot of saltwater flooded the causeway ~,,
leading from the island. Higher-than-nor- - ~:yytOt~ tJ
mal tides floated the pontoon bridge from « .F~~
its moorings, trapping motorists on either ~QS C
side. Similar conditions were expected at _,~~~
high tides through Wednesday, said Sunset ~>
Beach Police Chief J.B. Buell. '~""°'~`'
"Everybody's blaming us and it's not our fault. It's
not the town's fault; it's mostly absentee property own-
ers," Buell said Monday. "What are you going to do?
You have the people trying to block the new bridge and
then you have the people wanting to get across."
Officers bore the brunt of the blame from impatient,
frustrated motorists. One officer wrote in his log, "Was
cussed 736 times."
When the bridge closed Saturday night from 5 p.m.
until 7:10 p.m., the bridgetender shut down operations
without giving the town notice. A police officer hap-
pened to be on the island at the time.
Sunday, the town sent an officer and a fire truck to the
island during a scheduled 5 p.m. to 8:20 p.m. closure.
"Traffic was backed up way past Sugar Sands and
down to the Twin Lakes," said Buell. "On the island it
~~* ~••• ~--~•~ was just unreal. Once the bridge opened
'C~r ~, 1 ~ again, it took 45 minutes to clear the traf-
fic.".
~lh~ !t 0 : ~ With the low-lying causeway flooded
~_`~.`~~ ~ ° ' with 10 inches of seawater Saturday
,.SSeC~ evening and closer to 12 inches Sunday
'S. ~s evening, Chief Buell said officers had to
_ ,; •. ',~~; : stop traffic leaving the island at
"-`~ ~ Northshore Drive.
The crowd isolated on the island Saturday included
local workers and beachgcers as well as newly-arrived
vacationers headed out for supper or a night on the
town.
Sunday's crowd was primarily tourists, said Buell.
"They were saying, `enough's enough.' Don't get me
wrong. It's a quaint bridge and one of a kind, but the
time's come they need something else over there. The
beach is beginning to fill up more and more," said the
chief. "If there was an emergency you couldn't get any-
body off by vehicle.
"When someone dies, they'll wish something had
been done."
The Brunswick 3eacon,
nrtn,y 25 , 1991.1.