MANTEO, N.C. — The state Department of Transportation wants to pull a storm-damaged stretch of N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island back from the ocean, and federal land managers are taking public comments on the plan through Nov. 24.
NCDOT has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a right-of-way so it can shift roughly 3,000 feet of the road some 150 feet to the west, next to the visitor center for the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. The new two-lane section would sit farther from the waves, and the current pavement would be torn out entirely. A new sand dune 15 feet high and 45 feet wide, planted with sea oats or beach grass, is also part of the proposal.
The move would mean demolishing the refuge visitor center, a restroom and wastewater system run by the National Park Service, and nearby parking, then rebuilding them or relocating them to another site close by. A small lot would remain near the existing center so visitors can still get to refuge impoundments and the North Pond Wildlife Trail.
The road is the main route on and off Hatteras Island. Nor’easters in September and October repeatedly sent ocean water over the Pea Island section, damaging the pavement and forcing closures that cut off a key access point for island residents. Those storms led Gov. Josh Stein to issue an emergency declaration covering Dare and Hyde counties, and he pressed the Federal Highway Administration to release emergency relief dollars for repairs.
The Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service opened the comment period Nov. 10. People can weigh in online through the park service planning site, send an email to [email protected], or write to the refuge at P.O. Box 1969 in Manteo.
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