Carolina Environmental Diversity Explorations

The northern Outer Banks · By Dirk Frankenberg and Blair Tormey

Keeping Oregon Inlet open

Human Intervention to Keep Oregon Inlet Open

Figure 16. Large boulders are part of a seawall built to protect the the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge from southward migration of Oregon Inlet. (Photograph by Blair Tormey. More about the photograph)

At the southern end of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, the foundations are in serious jeopardy, as the channel of Oregon Inlet continues to migrate southward. To protect the bridge, the Army Corps of Engineers has constructed an extensive seawall to armor the southern shore of the inlet. This seawall was the substitute for the once-proposed construction of two jetties, to have been 8,100 feet and 10,000 feet long, on the southern and northern shores of the inlet respectively. The Army Corps of Engineers also dredges the inlet constantly in order to keep the main shipping channel open.

Definitions

inlet n.
A recess, such as a bay or cove, along a coast; a stream or bay leading inland, as from the ocean; an estuary; a narrow passage of water, as between two islands; a drainage passage.
jetty n.
A protective structure of stone or concrete that extends from the shoreline into the water to prevent a beach from washing away.