Editor:
Residents who live on or adjacent to Fort McAllister Road, also known as the Highway 144 Spur, should be very concerned about an application for a borrow pit, or surface mine, that will be presented to our Board of Commissioners for a vote Tuesday in Pembroke.
The potential site is between Kinsale and Buckhead East, and would entail up to 20 feet deep excavation of 22.8 acres beginning in the spring of 2020. Operation of the mine would be Monday through Saturday, sunrise to sunset, with an estimated truck travel of 100 daily loads and 100 return trips, generating approximately 40,000 heavy dump truck runs annually. Trucks will have to turn left or right at the already failed intersection at Highway 144, which is presently being widened to four lanes.
Water will have to be continuously drained from the pit, and its impact on local environment and water quality could be another concern. Fort McAllister Road is frequented by many patrons of the marina and its restaurant, along with tourists and campers who go to the state park that Richmond Hill touts as a wonderful tourist attraction.
Signage at the intersections points down the road and states “Wildlife Viewing, Scenic Trails, and Historic Fort McAllister.”
I truly do not believe adding heavy, loaded dump trucks to the mix of local boaters and visiting tourists to our historic fort will be a benefit to anyone. While we may not be able to prevent the pit, many in our neighborhood will at least be asking our commissioners to put logical restrictions on this proposed operation. Please attend the meeting, or at least email your concerns to commissioners prior to Tuesday’s meeting.
Sherry Harvey
Cape Hardwicke
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