North Carolina Lighthouse Begins Slow Crawl Inland to Safety

Propped up on rollers in a technique borrowed from the ancients, the historic, 208-foot Cape Hatteras Lighthouse began its inch-by-inch journey to a safer spot inland Thursday, away from the crashing breakers of the Atlantic.

With a nudge from seven hydraulic jacks, the nation’s tallest lighthouse silently moved 5 inches on the first push shortly after 3 p.m. EDT. Cheers went up from those who gathered in a steady rain to watch.

“It rolled a lot easier than we thought,” said Jerry Matyiko of Expert House Movers of Virginia Beach, Va., a project subcontractor. The contractors moved it 10 feet, 4 inches on Thursday.

Threatened with destruction by the encroaching sea, the beloved white-and-black, barber-pole-striped landmark is being moved 2,900 feet inland, a trip that will take four to six weeks. Engineers said at best they can expect to go 200 feet at a time. The 4,800-ton, 128-year-old brick tower is to reopen next Memorial Day weekend.

“This is a major milestone in this project to preserve a piece of America’s heritage,” said Bob Reynolds, superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore. “For many people, lighthouses in general and this lighthouse in particular is a symbol of people’s romance with the ocean.”

The lighthouse once guided ships in the treacherous waters off Cape Hatteras, known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. But with the advent of electronic and satellite navigation, the beacon is seldom used. In preparation for the move, the light was extinguished March 1 for the first time since 1950.

Before the move began, Terry Jennette Ponton of Philadelphia, granddaughter of the lighthouse’s last full-time keeper, was permitted by National Park Service rangers to take a look around. She took a piece of foundation granite and some brick as mementos.

“I know it’s not the last time, but it’s the last time in this place. It was bittersweet,” she said. “She’s a graceful lady and she needs to be in a safe place. I wish her well.”

The Park Service is spending $10 million to move the lighthouse because it sits just 150 feet from the Atlantic, and the waves are getting closer all the time. When it was built, it was 1,600 feet away from the surf. After the move, it will once more be 1,600 feet from the sea.

The move was bitterly contested by many who feared the lighthouse would fall or become seriously cracked. They wanted the Park Service to instead construct jetties to catch sand and build up the beach in front of the lighthouse.

The Dare County Board of Commissioners sued to try to stop the move, but a judge refused to stand in the way. A citizens opposition group, Save Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Committee, also gave up.

The move employs both high technology and brute force.

Earlier this year, workers cut the lighthouse away from its foundation and raised it on hydraulic jacks onto beams and rollers. The lighthouse will move an average of only an inch or two a minute, with frequent stops for adjustments. Every 100 feet or so, the rollers the lighthouse has passed over will be picked up and put in front of it.

Dozens of sensors attached to the structure will measure tilt, expansion, temperature and vibration. Should a sensor detect a problem, all movement will halt.

Kevin McCave, 43, of Buxton, one of the opponents of the move, rode his bicycle to the lighthouse to watch. “I don’t believe the lighthouse was meant to stand forever,” he said. “Once it moves, a lot of the history is gone.”