Officials in Chesapeake, Virginia announced the opening of a new four lane Toll Road thru Chesapeake in time for Memorial Day Weekend.

The 16 mile highway known as The Chesapeake Expressway connects Interstate 64 around Norfolk with North Carolina's new five lane highway 168 to the Outer Banks.

The new toll road incorporates Virginia's first "Smart Tag" electronic toll collection system for frequent travelers. This new open road technology allows Smart Tag users to go through dedicated toll lanes at 45 mph.

Tolls range from $2.00 each way for a two axle vehicle and $3.00 for three axle vehicles up to a maximum of $6.00 for 6 axels. A discount program offers savings to frequent travelers which may lower costs to as little as $.050 depending upon the options selected.

For further information and questions about the Chesapeake Expressway or the Discount Program, you are asked to contact:

Chesapeake Expressway
168 Toll Plaza Road
Chesapeake, VA 23322
Hours of Operation: 8:30 am - 5 pm
Monday - Friday
Phone: (757) 204-0010
Fax: (757) 204-0015

Old Business 168 (the Battlefield Blvd. Exit off I-64) in Virginia is still open and available for those seeking to avoid the toll or who need fuel and other services.

Hatteras Keepers Descendants
Hunt Continues
June 2001
Cheryl Roberts
HOMECOMING
Outer Banks, NC

Are you a Cape Hatteras Keepers direct descendant? (child, grandchild, great grandchild, great-great grandchild, and spouses).

If so Register On-line today!

Lighthouse Tour

Driving Directions to all North Carolina's Lighthouses
Cheryl Roberts
ANNOUNCEMENT
MOREHEAD CITY, NC

Most people visiting the Outer Banks of North Carolina want ot visit at least one of the lighthouses. The Outer Banks Lighthouse Society has prepared a Driving Tour from north to south along coastal North Carolina.

Of the existing towers you have a choice of seven lighthouses to visit, and you can see the ruins of an eighth light. Theses lighthouses are so interesting days can be spent in the surrounding area of each one. You are invited to visit a lighthouse soon.

Outer Banks At A Glance

Staff Report
FACTS
OUTER BANKS, NC

Here's where to find the Outer Banks basics:

Many visitors to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse look forward to the challenge of climbing the more than 250 steps to the gallery level and experience the famous view. Due to safety concerns, however, the lighthouse will have to be admired from the outside on the newly restored grounds for a while.

Photo courtesy Bruce Roberts

Engineers who have inspected the 131-year-old lighthouse and the dislodged metal say the incident is a result of age as well as stress and resonance of hundreds of thousands of visitors climbing the spiral staircase. 219,000 people climbed last year.

The staircase is assembled so that each segment supports the other, making the ironwork a strong entity. At some time, every lighthouse in America that allows visitors to climb faces this issue. Special bracing and regular maintenance are needed to ensure the safety of visitors and the preservation of the historic fabric of the lighthouse.

You can bet that the park service will get the best advice available on how to repair these stairs. Cape Hatteras is famous the world over because it is a National Historic Landmark and it is the tallest brick lighthouse in North America at approximately 200 feet. Many people have planned a visit to the lighthouse and want it re-opened for climbing.

"The Service fully realizes the importance of moving expeditiously with repairs so that the lighthouse can re-open in a timely manner," stated Peltier. "We must, however, take the time that is necessary to arrive at the best decision possible to provide for the safety of our visitors, the safety of our staff, and for the preservation of the lighthouse itself."

Similar aging and stress have been detected on other support brackets. Since there are optional solutions, the National Park Service, Outer Banks Group has asked for a second opinion on how to achieve necessary repairs. Today, fortunately, there are people with years of experience in lighthouse restoration and preservation; solutions to these maintenance problems continue to improve.

The lighthouse is temporarily closed for climbing, perhaps for several weeks, but the park remains open! The grounds are looking beautiful, the Principal Keepers Quarters is open as a book and gift shop, museum exhibits in the Double Keepers Quarters continue to be enhanced, and new markers have been placed at the old and new lighthouse locations.

At the original site, visitors can enjoy the Keepers Circle of Stones, which have been engraved with the keepers' names, a project completed by the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society and the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau. Looking from the circle of stones up the move path to the new location of the light station is a moving experience. While you are there, look for the stone with the boring hole in it for a unique photograph.

Meanwhile, the final report of the initial investigation team will soon be completed, and the results released to the public. An update on plans for repairs and a timeline for re-opening will be posted as soon as the information is available.