Mail delivery will continue in Carova Beach

Through crowded beaches and encroaching tides, over tall sand dunes and rutted roads, mail delivery will continue in Carova Beach.

Currituck County officials announced last week that the U.S. Postal Service would continue carrying mail from Corolla to the cluster of 50 mail boxes located in the remote Outer Banks community. The Postal Service sent a letter to residents Wednesday announcing the continuation.

Postal officials had said in September that delivery to Carova Beach would stop soon because it was dangerous for the mail carrier. Last month, it was announced that the last day would be last Saturday. But residents protested, prompting local and Postal Service officials to meet Friday and work out a deal, said Commissioner Ernie Bowden.

"It was a cooperative spirit between the two groups," Bowden said. "They were certainly in the driver's seat."

The current carrier plans to subcontract with a Carova Beach resident to take the route before the end of March, said Enola Rice, Postal Service spokeswoman.

The county has agreed to better maintain the beach access ramp at the end of N.C. 12 and post stop signs at some intersections within the Carova Beach community, Rice said.

The route to Carova requires maneuvering a four-wheel- drive vehicle about 10 miles along the surf where people sunbathe and fish. Children often run across the hard sand that serves as the road near the surf. When the tide is in, vehicles must go closer to the dunes, where the sand is deeper and it is easy to get stuck. In the community, pond-sized potholes in the unpaved roads add to the hazards.

But for those who live there, it's part of the routine.

John McGowan, who moved to Carova Beach about five years ago, was among those who wanted mail service to continue.

"Some people love to drive in the snow and some people hate to drive in the snow," said McGowan, who came here from a northern state. "This carrier hated to drive in the sand."

Carriers have delivered mail for at least 20 years to a cluster of boxes set up on Ocean Pearl Road near the volunteer fire department.

Some locals say residents in the northern Outer Banks have received mail service for many decades, McGowan said.

Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com