SALVO — A bulkhead and armor rock barrier at Salvo Day Use Cemetery was recently completed, the Island Free Press reported.
The cemetery now has a 230-foot vinyl bulkhead designed to stand 5 feet above sea level, 525 cubic yards of sand was also placed behind the bulkhead and armor stone was added along the soundfront edges of the bulkhead.
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The 146-year-old cemetery is within the Salvo Day Use Area of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Originally plotted in 1872, the historic cemetery with gravesites from the 19th and 20th centuries had begun to deteriorate.
By 2016, headstones had broken, washed away or been removed. Tombs were becoming exposed as the soundfront area receded from erosion. In 2017, sandbags were placed at the cemetery.
Hatteras Island Genealogical and Historic Preservation Society and the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Civic Association hosted fundraisers and online fundraising campaigns to raise the estimated $120,000 to have the bulkhead built.
Dare County received a $162,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Quality to fund the shoreline work. The funds were marked to fix cemeteries affected by Hurricane Matthew, which included the Salvo site.
Permits were obtained from the Division of Coastal Management and the National Park Service. After an April 25, 2018, Notice to Proceed was issued, construction began in early May.
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Hatchell Concrete was the general contractor for the project. Millstone Marine was the subcontractor that worked on the bulkhead portion.
The project had a final site review June 18. The project did not disturb any gravesites.
