Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative (CHEC) has begun relocating a critical section of electrical line in Buxton that provides power to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Visitors Center, and other nearby National Park Service (NPS) facilities.
The project shifts the power line away from a highly eroded oceanside area that has seen 15 home collapses since mid-September, replacing the at-risk stretch of overhead lines with a new underground system farther inland along Lighthouse Road.
The existing power feed to the lighthouse area currently runs down Old Lighthouse Road, across the former Naval base — now a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) undergoing cleanup — and through the Old Lighthouse Beach parking lot. That path has become increasingly unstable as shoreline erosion accelerates.
According to Laura Ertle, CHEC’s Director of Public Relations & Marketing, part of the current overhead line was nearly lost during Hurricane Erin, when surf conditions washed out the section crossing the FUDS area.
“The portion of the line going through the FUDS area was washed out due to high surf and beach erosion,” Ertle said. “We worked closely with NPS and Baywest to find a suitable temporary location through the FUDS site. However, due to all underground infrastructure left from the military, the poles are still very close to the ocean and at risk of erosion.”
Baywest, the contractor leading the FUDS cleanup, rebuilt protective dunes around the poles to keep them standing while CHEC pursued a permanent fix. But with erosion advancing rapidly in area over the past several months, all parties agreed the line needed to be moved as soon as possible.
CHEC and NPS worked together coordinating permits, ensuring environmental compliance, and nailing down the logistics for the eventual long-term solution: installing underground lines down Lighthouse Road, eliminating the section of vulnerable overhead lines entirely. Ertle said NPS remained engaged even during the recent federal government shutdown due to the urgent nature of the project.
“NPS has been a great partner throughout and was able to work with us through the government shutdown since this was an emergency situation,” she said.
The cooperative received final approval by early November, and crews broke ground last week. CHEC installed the first segment of conduit on Friday, and work has continued daily along Lighthouse Road since.
The project will ultimately reduce storm-related outages and ensure uninterrupted power to one of the Outer Banks’ most visited cultural and historical sites.
“We hope to complete the relocation by the middle of December,” Ertle said. “The relocation of this vulnerable section of distribution will improve service reliability to the NPS facilities for years to come.”
CHEC working in Buxton after Hurricane Erin in August. Photos by Don Bowers.
CHEC working on Lighthouse Road in Buxton to move power lines on November 19. Photos by Joy Crist
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