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Dare County has requested an injunction to stop work on moving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The National Park Service has asked a federal judge to dismiss this request, arguing that the county has no legal standing to sue and hasn't proved the need for the injunction.

The park service referred to the restraining order as "wholly without foundation". The county is citing the lack of hearings on the lighthouse relocation, absent or incomplete environmental or economic analysis, and failure of the park service to provide a contract to the county.

A Raleigh law firm has been hired to assist the county. Bryan Graham, an attorney in the firm, said that the park service's response was expected, but declined to say how the county will proceed. Work on the relocation project continues.

There have been some concern over recent reports stating that the weight of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse had been miscalculated. Originally, the Lighthouse was believed to be 2,800 tons by the National Academy of Sciences. Estimates now believe that this tower weights closer to 4,800 tons, a considerable difference.

Hatteras Island News had the opportunity to speak with Bob Woody of the National Park Service. According to Mr. Woody, -there is no reason for this concern. When International Chimney Corporation was contracted to perform this historical move, they recalculated the weight of the lighthouse based on new research. They had more data than previously available to the National Academy of Sciences. When the engineers devised the moving strategy, it was designed to move a 4,800 structure. In addition, a large margin for error was drawn into the move.

"They (International Chimney) overdesigned the move which is standard practice for engineers," says Bob Woody. According to Woody, the plan is engineered to move the lighthouse even if they were 50% off in their calculations.

The Park Service remains steadfast in their confidence that they are doing the best to preserve our spiral guardian.

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The Hatteras Island News will be documenting each and every move the lighthouse makes, from ground level and also from the air.

The Hatteras Island News is a free By-Weekly Publication by the Hatteras Monitor. It arrives in our mailboxes twice a month.