Shifting sand continues to cause problems for returning the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferries to their original route.
Tests conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers late last month showed that in three areas of the Hatteras Inlet, sand had already started to shift back to areas dredged several weeks earlier. That made those areas unsafe for travel by ferry vessels, which need at least nine feet of water depth to operate.
Shifting sand in the inlet has been an increasing problem for ferry travel in recent years, creating issues where they did not previously exist. Part of this is a result of the number of hurricanes and nor’easters that have hit the area. It was an overnight storm on Jan. 18 that made the original route too shallow for ferries to travel safely and forced the N.C. Department of Transportation Ferry Division to switch to a longer route.
The Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for keeping the inlet channel clear, is working to send a dredging ship to the site to address the problem.
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Press Release, May 17, 2013