Bridge work may impact boaters in Wrightsville Beach

Work will last through the fall

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Work on the South Banks Channel Bridge in Wrightsville Beach could impact boaters for the next several months.

According to a news release from Wrightsville Beach and the NC Department of Transportation, from now through the fall, repairs to preserve the bridge are taking place seven days a week. During this period, the clearance between the bridge and water will be reduced, meaning most boaters will need to use an alternate route.

They may look harmless, but at high speed, the cables hanging down during construction from the South Banks Channel Bridge could post a serious danger to distracted boaters.

Sea Tow Captain Scott Collins said he noticed the three quarter inch cables Wednesday, during construction.

“So it’s necessary for what they’re doing,” Collins said, “but it just needs to be marked a little bit better. Especially at night. It’s quite dangerous.”

Collins took the warning to social media, alerting Sea Tow followers about the cables. Collins says though the cables are lit, the lights are pretty dim. He believes they might not be enough for unaware boaters at high speeds.

“After being on the water last night the cable is nearly invisible and the lights are also very dim be careful and pass this on,” Sea Tow wrote in a post on their Facebook page.

“When you come up to the bridge, slow speed, no wake,” he explained. “But, you know a lot of times that’s ignored. And if you are going and traveling at night at a high rate of speed going through that bridge, you will not see it at all.”

After the pose, NCDOT and the Coast Guard issued alerts Friday, telling the public to seek an alternate route.

The NCDOT says the contractor has taken the following precautions:

• Yellow safety ropes have been positioned and flagged on both the south and north outside columns of the bridge to prevent boaters from entering an area with cables for the safe span, which is temporary work platform underneath bridge

• Cables are being flagged along the safe span, which continues to be built

• Dawn to dusk hazard lights have been positioned across the bridge to provide nighttime awareness

• Two construction signs have been placed on both the south and north sides of the bridge alerting boaters of a low clearance and to use an alternate route.

Though the cables are just four feet above the water at high tide, some boaters dodged cables and drove on through Friday. Collins says going through that area could mean damage or injury.

Collins: “It would definitely, you know, possibly rip the t top off it it. The console off if it had a console in the middle of it. So it you’re standing behind it, in front of it, you can only envision what would happen to a person.”

Reporter: “So it could do damage to a person as well?”

Collins: “Absolutely.”

The repairs and cable will block the waterway through August, when boating and tourist season will be at its peak.

Until it’s down, Collins says to take things slow and find and alternate route.

“Go up, check it out, take a look at it… but keep a proper distance from it.”

The NCDOT says these precautions will be reviewed often to ensure they are visible and working to alert the public of these changes.