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Once again, the Park Service and International Chimney Corp. hosted a bi-monthly media tour on Tuesday Feb.23. It turned out to be one of the coldest days of the year. The tour began at the relocation site of the lighthouse. The oil house and 3 cisterns were lined up and awaiting their turn to be placed in their new home which is still a few weeks away. The foundations were close to being ready to receive the Double Keepers Quarters.

At the time of the tour, the Double Keepers Quarters was raised 6' up and the jacks were in place. The weight of this building is unevenly distributed mainly due to the chimneys which are located on one side and in the middle of the structure. These smart hydraulic jacks will operate independently to lift the building in a unified motion. Larger than usual tires will be used on the moving dolly to manuever through the sand. The dewatering of this area has been a constant but successful job. A person could stand underneath the raised building and see the water at eye level in the pond but yet be standing in a totally dry area.

Two days after the tour, the Double Keepers Quarters was moved without incident. Many people, including a tour bus from Nags Head,came out to watch the move.

The smaller quarters had originally been scheduled to be moved before the Double Keepers Quarters. Expert House Movers ran into some unexpected problems while trying to raise the house up. It is now thought that possibly granite may have been leftover from the construction of the lighthouse made up part of the floor. When ICC and Expert House Movers tried to clear a path under the quarters to insert moving beams and to dig out the underneath, they met with much resistance. Another issue is that the smaller building is constructed of brick, making it very heavy. The larger building was constructed of wood. Presently it is expected that the Keeper's Quarters will move around Mar.10.

With hardhats worn by everybody, the press was taken to the 'war zone' at the base of the lighthouse. The workmen are required to take a break when the press arrives to maintain the safety level of the tour but it removes any possiblity of getting action photos.

The pit dug around the structure is 6'-7' down. The process of removing the lighthouse from its structure is well underway. There is a pile of rock placed oft to the side which was removed from underneath the spiral beacon. A diamond cable saw, which runs on pulleys around the perimeter of the lighthouse just below ground level, has cut in several feet towards the center of the tower. Amazingly, this cut is surgically smooth. The operator stands behind a three sided enclosure for protection. This saw is very sharp and powerful. Without protection, an accident would result in death.

One layer of granite just below ground level has been numbered and will be reused at the new site, though the rest will remain. The workers are experiencing difficulty in breaking up the old rock & mortar beneath the cut. Heavier cutting equipment will be brought in to keep the project on schedule.

On this tour, we had the opportunity to see the pine timbers that everything sits upon. The timbers have been buried for at least 130 years. Since this wood has not been exposed to air during this time, there was no decay. In fact these timbers looked like they had just been placed. They looked new. The pine timbers will remain where they now are. Since they have been exposed to air, the wood has expanded. A support system with hydraulic jacks was being constructed and will be placed under the lighthouse where the rock has been removed. It is interesting that this specially made system is being employed to keep pressure on the timbers, not to support the lighthouse. The basic load of the tower is towards the middle which is still some distance away.

Joe Jakubik of International Chimney assisted project manager Skellie Hunt with the education session. It was the first time he joined the press tour. According to Joe, "Actually things are running smooth. Of course, there will always be surprises." This veteran mover of lighthouses added, "This is the most political move I have ever seen." There are some parts of the move that are ahead of schedule while some parts are a bit behind. It is a fluid situation which is inherent in a job of this magnitude. There are no final dates set on moving the spiral guardian. Despite what you have heard or read, early May is still the reasonable start move date.

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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.