CAMDEN — Camden Sheriff Kevin Jones believes the Pasquotank River drawbridge should operate more efficiently when it comes to opening for boating traffic.
Jones said on the Camden Sheriff’s app earlier this week that he’d like to explore establishing a more specific schedule for the drawbridge’s openings, believing it would benefit both law enforcement and the motoring public.
According to Jones, the bridge, which is operated by the N.C. Department of Transportation, currently is opened when a boat approaches, “regardless of the time of day or frequency.”
“My goal is to get specific times during the day for the bridge to open,” he said.
If there was a regular schedule for the bridge’s openings, local motorists would be able to better plan their travels to and from Elizabeth City — or to Camden and back — “more efficiently and without necessary delays,” Jones said.
A regular schedule also would benefit law enforcement, Jones said, because it could prevent police and sheriff’s agencies “from having to expend resources for traffic diversion in the event of extended openings.”
Jones noted there have been times in the recent past when the drawbridge has gotten stuck in the open position because of a mechanical failure. That’s caused “massive traffic backups, delays and strains on law enforcement resources to divert traffic to other routes,” he said.
Jones noted that his proposal for scheduled bridge openings is “still in the beginning stages.” He said he still needs to meet with Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County officials to discuss the idea. But he noted that he has spoken to a “contact with NCDMV who states this is something that can possibly be accomplished.”
Under current federal rules, which were adopted in 1998, the drawbridge over the Pasquotank River “shall open on signal” — meaning when a boater requests it to be opened — except during two, two-hour blocks Monday through Friday. According to the rules, the drawbridge “need only open ... for any pleasure vessel waiting to pass” at 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and at 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Outside of those hours, the bridge is supposed to open when a boater signals to the bridge tender.
A spokesman for NCDOT said the regulation possibly could be changed if the local governments in Pasquotank County, Camden County and Elizabeth City adopted resolutions calling for the change. But he noted U.S. Coast Guard officials would have to confirm that.
A spokesman for the 5th Coast Guard District on Thursday passed on a reporter’s request for information about changing the drawbridge’s scheduled openings to the district’s bridge division, which did not immediately respond to an email.
Jones asked anyone with thoughts about his proposal for scheduling bridge openings to contact him at kjones@camdencountync.gov.
“I know the bridge is old and in need of massive repair and replacement, (but) baby steps first!” Jones said on the department’s app.
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