3/8/24: CONTRACTOR TO PRESENT DESIGN OF NEW JUNIPER-TRINITIE TRAIL BRIDGE AT TOWN COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY; Construction of Replacement Structure Projected to Start in November, Town Manager Has Previously Said.

Contractor Kimley-Horn will formally present the design for the structure that will replace the Juniper Trinitie Culvert Bridge to the Southern Shores Town Council at its regular meeting next Tuesday, at 5:30 p.m. in the Pitts Center.

Town Manager Cliff Ogburn, who has kept the Town Council up to date on Kimley-Horn’s progress, previously announced at a Council meeting that construction of the bridge replacement will likely start in November.  

Also featured on the Town Council’s meeting agenda are:

• A public hearing on, and the Council’s consideration of, Zoning Text Amendment 24-01, which received unanimous approval from the Planning Board last month, subject to wording changes it suggested (See The Beacon, 2/18/24, 2/23/24);
• The Council’s consideration of a Town resolution to oppose the release of “helium or lighter-than-air balloons into the atmosphere” within the limits of Southern Shores, an environmental concern that has been championed by Chicahauk homeowner Debbie Swick;
• The appointment of one of two highly qualified candidates to fill the vacancy on the Planning Board for a second Alternate, and the reappointment of Wanda Brett-Jordan as an Alternate on the Southern Shores Historic Landmarks Commission;
• An update on the previously approved 101-square-foot addition to the Town Planning and Code Enforcement Dept.’s file room and the possible scanning of documents stored in the file room for digital preservation;
• A planning discussion led by Town Manager Ogburn about the Town’s FY 2024-25 budget;
• February reports by the Deputy Town Manager/Planning Director, the Police Chief, and the Fire Chief; and
• Recognition of Eagle Scout Austin Bellinger for the Town Hall Little Free Library.

As usual, there will be two public-comment periods during the meeting.

For the meeting agenda and background materials, including the revised version of ZTA 24-01, please see https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/soshoresnc-pubu/MEET-Packet-b00f3ea31aa84e24824f65c38507a9fd.pdf.  

You may live-stream the meeting at https://www.youtube.com/@SouthernShores/streams. If you choose to view the meeting on You Tube video, after it is over, be sure to click the “Live” link in the menu at the top of the page.  

The Town has received the approval of the U.S. Coast Guard to lower the culvert bridge on Juniper/Trinitie trail when it is replaced by a cored slab bridge—thus, reducing the opening of the structure—in order to improve the lines of sight of drivers who cross it.

Kimley-Horn has signed two contracts with the Town, one of which covers project tasks that were not dependent on the Coast Guard’s response and the other of which covers tasks that were. The Raleigh-based engineering firm has been working on the pre-Coast Guard tasks. The total cost of the bridge replacement is expected to be about $434,500, according to Mr. Ogburn.

Mr. Ogburn has given a tentative starting date of November for construction of the replacement bridge and a completion date of Summer 2025. He also has said that the bridge potentially could be closed for six months.      

We would like to thank Ms. Swick for her dedicated efforts to rid the coastal environment of contamination by Mylar and latex balloons, which, when deflated, pollute the land and waters and pose a serious hazard to the lives and health of animals, birds, and fish.

Proposed Town Resolution 2024-03-02 states that such balloons “represent the most common form of floating garbage and flotsam within 200 miles of the shore” and that their effect on “marine life is incalculable at the present time,” although research indicates that marine life and animals ingest the balloons when they appear on the surface of waters.

We also would like to thank Ms. Brett-Jordan for serving as an Alternate on the Historic Landmarks Commission for the past three years and for volunteering to serve another three-year term in that position, and Charlie Ries of South Dogwood Trail and Richard W. Filling of Crooked Back Loop for volunteering to serve on the Town Planning Board.

Although the position open on the Planning Board is that of First Alternate, Planning Director Wes Haskett has suggested in a report to the Council that it name the new appointee to be Second Alternate and promote the current Second Alternate, Michael Zehner, to the First Alternate’s position.

The Town Council usually observes seniority in its alternate appointments, such that the promotion of Mr. Zehner should be pro forma.

The Beacon will be unable to cover Tuesday’s meeting. We will watch Kimley-Horn’s presentation as soon as we can and report on those details that we believe would be of most benefit and use to residents, especially those residents who live in Chicahauk.

Don’t forget: Daylight Savings Time starts this weekend. We’re springing forward again.

THE BEACON, 3/8/24