Since you are using vague numbers, I will too. I'm not saying the specific dollars are there, but the three million dollars has been collected in taxes, and then some.
How do I get on this list of people who are entitled to live on the beach year round at the expense of eveyone else?
You really have a problem with people "living on the beach", don't you?
We are discussing here a state road which is being rebuilt. So far you haven't answered why it is OK to rehuild houses after a tornado, or rebuild a bridge after a flood, but it isn't OK to rebuild 1/3 of a mile of state highway.
If the next storm hits further north and wipes out the Wright Memorial Bridge, will your brother-in-law be happy paying for the ferry to get to his condo everytime he goes?
The problem is not with "living on the beach", the problem is with living in a high risk area and not accepting responsibility for that choice.
I plan to live on the beach myself when I retire, at least half the year.
I also plan to accept the risks that come with living at a place that stands a good chance of getting a few hurricanes within what remains of my projected lifespan, therefore I don't plan on it being on a thin barrier island.
The people who live on Hatteras have chosen where to live and already go through numerous inconviences to do so. I heard the kids have to go to school by boat anyhow. That tells me that they have accepted the inconviences for benefits of ocean front living.
More power to them, but if they want me to pay for their road, then they can come to Virginia, fix my roof, my parents roof, which includes structural damage, a huge tree I need removed, the $1500 (bargain price) my Dad paid to get his removed, and all the big bucks damage to the business.
I'm not a leech, I don't want something for nothing. If people in another location want to trade paying to fix my storm damage for me fixing theirs, then I'm open to an offer.
So far you haven't answered why it is OK to rehuild houses after a tornado, or rebuild a bridge after a flood, but it isn't OK to rebuild 1/3 of a mile of state highway.
I thought you may have picked up earlier when I made the comment to the effect that after tornados go away and floods recede, the land remains, and you must have not picked up on the this quote in the article:
"Dr. Orrin Pilkey, a retired Duke University geologist and a frequent critic of engineering projects to protect beachfront development, said the new inlet might not stay closed."
If you still don't get it, read this. Sorry, it's PDF and all I can do is link it.
The point is, repairing breaches in shifting sand is a waste of time and money, peeing in the ocean, as it were.