The Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and Town of Emerald Isle (EI) recently announced the appointment of eight individuals to an advisory committee that will help with the development/planning of the new Concrete Aquarium Pier in EI, located at the eastern regional access (Old EI Fishing Pier). Ideally the pier will be completed in 2012. One of the advisory committee positions is for the surfing community and yours truly has been selected as that representative (operative word is representative) see - http://www.emeraldisle-nc.org/PierProject.htm. Granted piers along Bogue Banks and local governments haven’t had the most amiable relationship with surfing in the past, but the fact the Aquarium and Town of EI have invited the surfing community to the table on the front end of the concrete pier is a nice signal. Even though we’re in the beginning stages of the project, if you have any thoughts/comments now or anytime during the planning phase, then please pass them along to eisurfshop@gmail.com and they will be duly noted and conveyed to the advisory committee as a surfing comment. The link below is a one-page handout concerning some of the more macroscopic construction details planned for the Concrete Aquarium Pier. The State ultimately plans to construct three concrete piers – one in the north (Nags Head - Jenette’s), one in the middle (Emerald Isle), and one in the south (Carolina Beach). The Nags Head project is first and expect a lot what you see at the Nags Head project to be incorporated in the EI design and final logistics. Actually the bids to construct the Nags Head Pier were opened recently and they were way above the estimate ($27 million compared to a $14 million estimate) - so obviously there is some re-assessment to be done. Thanks - rudi Link - http://www.emeraldisle-nc.org/pdfs/PierProjectHandout09202008meeting.pdf
