MANTEO, N.C. — Hatteras Island is reachable by car again: the state reopened N.C. 12 on Pea Island late Thursday afternoon, a day earlier than planned and 11 days after a nor’easter swamped the highway.
For now, traffic squeezes through a single paved lane near the Pea Island Visitor Center, taking turns in each direction under a signal or a flagger. The N.C. Department of Transportation is asking motorists to slow down, follow the signs and budget extra time, since the stretch remains an active work zone.
The closure began the evening of Oct. 19, when ocean overwash flooded the road on the Rodanthe side of the Marc Basnight Bridge and ultimately ruined more than 1,200 feet of pavement. Dare County lifted its limits on visitors once the road opened, so anyone may now travel to the island, and the county is advising guests to check with their rental or hotel about bookings.
While the highway was shut, an emergency ferry between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point was the only link for residents, workers and supplies. Since it started on Oct. 22, it carried upward of 2,700 vehicles and over 4,300 passengers, and those runs are now winding down.
This fall has been hard on the same short piece of road. A late September storm tore away roughly 1,000 feet of pavement near the visitor center, leading to a closure that ended with a one-lane detour on Sept. 29 and two lanes on Oct. 3. Before September, the state had not needed the emergency ferry since 2013.
Full two-lane traffic will take longer. Crews plan to lay a fresh line of sandbags along the dunes over the next few weeks to keep high tides from undercutting the road, then pave the northbound lane.
The bigger question is where the road should sit. NCDOT has begun talks with the Federal Highway Administration about emergency relief money for this fall’s repairs and a permanent fix, and it is discussing with federal partners whether to shift about a mile of N.C. 12 west, away from the surf. The department is working on environmental studies and permits so it can act quickly if that move gets approval.
Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson credited Dare and Hyde counties along with federal park, wildlife and Coast Guard officials for keeping the coast reachable, and said the state will keep looking at longer-term answers for the highway.
The reopening also helps Ocracoke, which hosts its Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree from Friday through Sunday. The Ferry Division is adding weekend trips on the Swan Quarter and Cedar Island routes and returning boats to the Hatteras-Ocracoke run. Road conditions are posted at DriveNC.gov.
Section: More Raleigh NC crime news
Filed under: Raleigh NC Traffic News
