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Federal Judge Terrance Boyle said he was not getting in the way of saving America's tallest beacon in answering a request by local officials who had requested an injunction to stop the move.
In denying the injunction to stop the move, Judge Boyle stated, "The United States has invested years of effort and millions of dollars into the ongoing relocation of the lighthouse. That relocation is now underway, and significant progress has been made."
Dare County, NC, officials, where the lighthouse is located, had filed a lawsuit requesting that the judge issue an injunction to stop the move. The County officials had claimed that not enough studies were conducted as to the historical significance of the move, plus they felt that additional groins should have been built to stop the erosion from in front of the lighthouse and other beach-front property. Many locals have also stated that the lighthouse might fall over during the move. They also claimed that tourists will not come to see the lighthouse at its new location, resulting in a loss of tourist dollars to the local economy. In fact, it is now predicted that as many as three times the number of tourists will be visiting the area to see the moved
Cheryl Shelton-Roberts of the Outer Banks Lighthouse Preservation Society said that she was not surprised by the Judge's ruling. She further went on to say, that the National Park Service wouldn't have begun the work on relocating the lighthouse if they hadn't felt that their decision to move the lighthouse was legally sufficient.
This story appeared in the May 1999 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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