Debris snags 2 boats near Kings Highway Bridge site

SUFFOLK

At least two boaters have struck submerged debris where the Kings Highway Bridge once straddled the Nansemond River, forcing authorities to mark safe passages.

The Army Corps of Engineers has done two surveys, but it won't know exactly what is in the water until divers take a closer look, said Mike Anderson of the corps. "I would say it's major, in the sense that it's a large amount of debris over a large area," he said.

The Coast Guard placed buoys on Friday to show where boaters can safely pass.

The Kings Highway Bridge closed in 2005 and was demolished last year. The job cost the Virginia Department of Transportation $2.4 million.

VDOT will take responsibility for clearing the debris if it's related to the demolition, said

Harry Kenyon, a VDOT spokesman. The agency will send in a dive team and may have to notify the contractor if it appears there is more work to do, he said.

"When they finished the job, they did assure us that the waterway was cleared," Kenyon said.

Bill Webb reported the debris to the Coast Guard and the Corps of Engineers after his son, an experienced boater, struck something in early September. The boat was moving only a few miles per hour, but "it hit hard enough to bring the boat to a complete stop," Webb said.

The corps asked the Coast Guard on Sept. 3 to notify mariners about the hazard. The notice was broadcast Sept. 12, said Petty Officer John Miller, a Coast Guard spokesman.

Problems with the corps' sonar equipment delayed the work to place the buoys, Miller said. The Coast Guard stepped in to help even though it was the state's responsibility, he said.

The Corps of Engineers will work with VDOT to clear the waterway, said Rick Henderson, a project manager with the corps. "Normally, we try to get this done within 90 days," he said. Kenyon said VDOT does not know how much the work will cost.

The contract for the demolition work required the full removal of bridge pilings in the river channel, said Randy Sutton of Waterfront Marine Construction Inc., the Virginia Beach company that did the job. But anything outside of the channel was removed only down to the mud line, as required by the contract, Sutton said.

Bo Russell, another local boater, said he hit some debris about a month and a half ago while trying to mark it with his GPS system. He began warning others in town.

Some debris showed on his depth finder, like spikes sticking out of the ground, he said.

Dave Forster, (757) 222-5563, dave.forster@pilotonline.com