"The Coast Guard needs records for missing and stolen boats," says Hewett. 



After the last boat — a sailboat from Canada — clears the opening, Hewett adjusts the cable. 

 The bridge swings back around and fits into the roadway like a puzzle piece. 



"It usually takes 10 to 15 minutes for an opening," says Hewett, who saw a busy fall. 



"I have seen some of the biggest pleasure boats ever going through," says Hewett. "I have 

 seen boats that cost from $8 to $10 million." 



Open 24 hours 



Pontoon and swing bridges on North Carolina's coast operate round-the-clock. 



As Diane Edens surveys the boat traffic around the Surf City bridge near Topsail Island, it's 

 pitch dark. Only a few boats twinkle on the churning waters of the Intracoastal Waterway. 



"One good thing about the job is that you see the sun come up here," says Edens, who has 

 been at work since midnight. "You also see the full moon shine on the waterway." 



On this morning, the sky blazes a bright red. Again, there is also a distinct visual contrast 

 between the two sides of the bridge — a trailer park and a muddy brown marsh on one side and 

 piers and houses on the other side. 



Edens, who has been tending the historic Sears Landing Bridge since 1978, was the first 

 female bridge tender in North Carolina. 



"It was a challenge the first time," she says. "Nobody worked here but men." 



Now many of the bridge tenders are women. It's a job that is quite hectic. 



Edens sits in front of a console in a tiny wood-paneled room decorated with a television and 

 photo of her white Pekinese. She watches the boats and then answers a call from the National 

 Weather Service in Wilmington. 



"They want to know what the direction of the wind is," says Edens. "We have a wind gauge 

 instrument." 



Edens also monitors the radio for information from the rescue squad, Coast Guard and boats. 

 "You have to be alert and listen to all the radios," she says. "Sometimes, we get a call from 

 the rescue squad. We close as soon as we can." 



The swing bridges also shut down during hurricanes. 



"If I am working, I am usually the last to leave the island," says Edens. "I have to take down 

 the gates and put chains at each end of the bridge to keep it from moving. I also have to lock up 

 and turn the electricity off." 



On rare occasions, the bridge is shut down for a boat accident. 



Several years ago, a barge hit the fender system — wood pilings that protect the bridge 

 substructure. 



"The dredging outfit came through this building and threw me on the other side of the 

 room," says Edens. "It yanked every connector off and pulled the cable through the concrete. I 

 wasn't hurt, but it was not a good feeling." 



Bridge tending is often a solitary job. The only time the operators communicate with other 

 people is when they radio a boat captain or another bridge tender relieves them. 



A few minutes before Eden's graveyard shift is over, Faye Phelps comes in. 



Phelps has tended the Surf City bridge for 10 years. 



"It is a good job," says Phelps. "You are more or less your own boss. Nobody bothers you." 



Most of the time, she says the bridge openings and closings run smoothly. 



"Ninety-eight percent of the boat captains are good," she says. "But, every once in a while 

 you do get someone that is hard to get along with. Some won't answer the radio. That makes it 

 tough to help them through." 



As Phelps scans the waterway with her binoculars, it is clear of boats. But she's enjoying the 

 view. 



"You can always enjoy the pretty sights," she says. "One time, we even had a drawbridge 

 from Edenton come through on a barge. The owner of Barefoot Landing near Myrtle Beach 

 couldn't get a bridge built so he bought his own." □ 



Bridging 

 the Distance 



Along North Carolina's coast, 



there are a variety of drawbridges 



— from the two-lane bridge that 



connects Straits to Marker's Island 



to the towering Memorial Bridge • 



over the Cape Fear River in 1 



Wilmington. Here are some other 



bridge tidbits from the N.C. j 



Department of Transportation: 



• The oldest operating drawbridge, 

 which was built in 1 931 , is on 

 U.S. 1 58 over the Pasquotank 

 River in Elizabeth City. 



• The newest bridge is a dual 

 structure that was built in 1 972 

 over the Pasquotank River. 



• The busiest drawbridge for boat 



traffic is over the Alligator River i 

 in Tyrrell County. In 1999, 5,406 

 vessels went through the bridge 

 opening. 



• The state's tallest drawbridge is 

 Wilmington's Memorial Bridge 

 with a clearance of 65 feet. 



• The shortest drawbridge is on 

 U.S. 17B over the Dismal Swamp 

 in Camden County. 



• For more information about 

 drawbridges, visit the Web and 

 follow the links to bridge 

 maintenance and drawbridge 

 schedules: www.doh.dot.state. 

 nc. us/ operations/. 



TOP: Sunset Beach Bridge 



Photo by At Patterson 



COASTWATCH 15 



