Dredging to start soon to help Outer Banks shoaling

Dredging to relieve shoaling on the ferry route between North Carolina's Hatteras and Ocracoke islands will start within two weeks, the Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday.

The corps will use $2 million to deepen the route, where shallow waters and emerging sand have forced the ferry service to use smaller vessels and delay trips.

Most important for Ocracoke business owners, officials say the project will take a few weeks, ending before most visitors arrive.

The funds are part of $54.3 million in federal disaster money the corps designated this week for dredging projects around the state. Crews will also use $5.5 million to dredge Oregon Inlet and inland channels around Rodanthe and Ocracoke.

Shifting sands after Hurricane Irene in August caused shoaling along the ferry route that ferry captains called some of the worst conditions they'd seen. The ferry service does not expect the dredging work to affect its operations, state Ferry Division spokeswoman Lucy Wallace said.

Along with the environmental changes, the storm brought a swift end to the tourism season, hurting Ocracoke businesses.

"It's important for our economy to sustain some decent business this year," said Darlene Styron, a Hyde County commissioner who represents Ocracoke Island.

Dredging at Oregon Inlet won't start for two to three months, said Donnie Potter, deputy chief of navigation for the corps. It will contract out the work to a pipeline dredge, he said, and he expects a plan to be set in the next two weeks.

Initially, Irene helped clear Oregon Inlet, which is a gateway for fishing boats from Pamlico Sound. But sands have since accumulated in the channel, forcing some boats to use the waterways around Virginia Beach to access the ocean.

Willie Etheridge, who owns Willie R. Etheridge Seafood in Wanchese, said the shallow water in the inlet has kept him from taking out a trawl boat to fish for a year.

"I'm happy they're dredging, but it's not going to fix the problem," Etheridge said. "It will only put a Band-Aid on it."

He said the corps should look into putting jetties in the sounds to stabilize the unpredictable sands. That would preserve the profession of three generations of his family, he said.

The federal government rejected a plan for jetties in 2003 after three decades of study.

Gabriella Souza, 252-441-1711, gabriella.souza@pilotonline.com