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u/ipreferanothername 6d ago
oh man :( poor DOT guys busted their ass to do all that and now its staring them in the face again. And i know its a huge pain in the ass for locals, sorry to see it everyone :-/
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u/That-Might9185 6d ago
Happens every year, multiple times! You’d think they would let her go. Run a ferry or bridge on backside.
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u/willfish4fun 6d ago
The cost to repair the road is a drop in the bucket compared to the income in tourism & tax revenue it generates. The folks saying it's a waste to spend the $ to fix it when it's costing less than 2-5% of the gross tax revenue for Hatteras Island alone (not including Ocracoke, Pea Island, etc.) It's essentially a business expense, while also supporting lots of employment opportunities. People spend huge amounts of time & $ commuting, Parking, buying fuel, clothes, tolls etc. just to go to work. Granted, having a more reliable & sustainable passage makes a lot of sense. But look at the comedy the proposed, approved and then abandoned northern bridge project created & the $ all that wasted. The obx is one of my favorite places to visit and we go often to multiple parts of it up and down the entire chain from Carova to Ocracoke. As long as its "there" i know we will always want to go back, in spite of the temporary setbacks getting there tgat the weather makes happen. There is something very unique about it.
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u/Kinnakeet 6d ago
Tax revenue is a good argument in our favor but i dont think some of these people who rant so hard about a bit of asphalt consider how many of us actually live here. My family has been on hatteras island a very long time and they act like cutting off easy access to our communities, schools, urgent healthcare is no big deal. That bit of digging out and replacing a relatively small patch of road is business as usual as you say yet Reddit is here for uneducated (in coastal life) landlubbers to tell us we're wrong.
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u/No-Picture4119 6d ago
I think about this as well. I would have to assume that one reason people stumble onto this subreddit is because they vacation in the OBX. Then as soon as something costs money, they say it should crumble into the ocean taking 200+ years of history with it. My family has lived, at least partially on Hatteras Island since the 70s, and I guess I don’t appreciate how cavalier folks are about saying, just let it go.
But the same people who enjoy the beaches and ocean will call us stupid for living here. I guess it’s just internet theory. These same people would be annoyed if the access to their cul de sac was blocked by a sinkhole and they were told to just move.
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u/piratelegacy 6d ago
Ignore those that don’t understand coastal living. Period. OBX is fickle AF and it’s gods country. Sending solidarity and strength to my OBX friends!
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u/butter_gum 5d ago
Why do people only want to look at the bottom line and how much money is exchanged? Can we think about the environment? How pavement washing away into the ocean might not be good for the creatures that live there? That the time and energy and carbon put into the air to rebuild this road that is “worth rebuilding” is continually wasted?
It seems that most Americans want to focus solely on the monetary aspects of these types of decisions but there are so many more factors to consider that extend beyond ourselves and our selfish desires.
We are destroying our planet and until we learn to live in harmony with it, it will actively destroy us too.
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u/DMVfan 6d ago
Something like $50 million in federal funding for fixes for this road in the past 15 years. All the while, 500,000+ kids in NC face food insecurity.
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u/No-Picture4119 6d ago
Think about this. They estimate that over $10 million has already been spent on NC political ads for the midterms. In one election cycle. So that I can watch one more attack ad. Let’s put that money to ending food insecurity as well.
Anyway, currently on the island of Avon. Doubt I’ll be leaving anytime soon. They tried pretty hard to save the dunes, but in the end, they need to move that stretch of 12.
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u/goodsam2 6d ago
Yeah we really have to reduce ad spending in politics. It's insane that it's like real multiple lunches per meal money every presidential election.
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u/skandhi 6d ago
That's actually way less than I thought...especially compared to how much money the island brings in. Wonder how long til the numbers flip.
https://www.academia.edu/80780767/HATTERAS_ISLAND_NORTH_CAROLINA_ECONOMIC_IMPACT
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u/KeyMessage989 6d ago
So do you suggest you cut off the islands residents complete?
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u/SafePaint7600 6d ago
Dare County brings in 2 billion a year in tourism revenue.
Upkeep of this road is an easy investment.
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u/That-Might9185 6d ago
Been saying it for years. Let Mother Nature do her thing.
Pissing away money, time, and a whole lot more by trying to keep this road there
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u/Infinite_Prize287 6d ago
That road costs less to maintain and rebuild over 2 decades than 1 F35
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u/NaKchemistry 6d ago
TIL: NCDOT has spent over $70 million since 2010 keeping the Pea Island stretch passable, and estimates status-quo maintenance could top $363 million over 50 years.
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u/Intrepid-Scarcity486 6d ago
So the road has cost 70 million to maintain/repair but let’s consider that dare county has about 25 BILLION in tourism revenue since 2010…. Since 2020 roughly 2 billion a year average…. Seems like a no brainer to keep the road going
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u/JadedBeyondBelief 6d ago
If the Atlantic wants an inlet, the Atlantic will make an inlet.
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u/Ordinary_Musician_76 6d ago
Give it another 5-10 years and the whole place will be like this.
I’m already seeing insurances moving to stop ensuring properties in the area for this exact reason.
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u/goodsam2 6d ago
Flood insurance via the government rates should be going up and aren't and I think that's a huge issue that will burst at some point
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u/obxtalldude 7d ago
Not much worse than an offshore low that just sits and spins Northeast wind into the Outer Banks.
I'll take a hurricane that moves over it any day.