The local papers had an article on shoaling at Oregon Inlet just 4 days ago. An excerpt is below HATTERAS ISLAND, N.C. Oregon Inlet has shoaled to a depth of about 2 feet and is too shallow for dredging. The channel under the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge connecting Hatteras Island to the northern Outer Banks will be left to the elements, according to a news release from the Army Corps of Engineers. The side-casting dredge Merritt was unable to operate. "I had not seen the conditions that bad before and that when we were able to move enough sand to float, the surrounding sand would fill the hole we had dug, immediately filling in behind us and trapping us in place," Ray Bleam, a dredging master, said in a statement. There are no immediate plans to resume dredging, said Hank Heusinkveld, a Corps of Engineers spokesman. The Coast Guard will broadcast safety information every hour on VHF marine channel 16 to alert sailors to the conditions, according to the release. Frank Wiegand *