UPDATE: N.C. 12 to close briefly in Rodanthe for sign removal Wednesday
.C. Department of Transportation crews will be briefly closing a section of N.C. Highway 12 in Rodanthe early Wednesday morning to remove an unused overhead sign structure.
The sign, at the intersection of N.C. 12 and Trade Winds Drive, will be removed on Sept. 18 beginning at 5:30 a.m., weather permitting. While the work is underway, traffic on N.C. 12 will be stopped in both directions.
There is no detour for this closure, which is expected to last about 20 minutes. Motorists planning to travel during those hours are advised to be aware of the closure and plan accordingly.
The sign structure was originally erected to alert drivers about pedestrians crossing N.C. 12, which bisected Waterfall Park.
During its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s, Waterfall Park was a popular destination offering go-kart racing and waterslides. It closed after the national economic downturn in the late 2000s.
The property is owned by the Merjos family of Virginia Beach and is composed of four separate plots that include a two-story, 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom house built in 1989 along the Pamlico Sound.
Over time, the park steadily fell into a state of disrepair, exacerbated by massive storm surge from Hurricane Irene in 2011 and other flooding and wind events.
Dare County declared it a nuisance property due to public safety concerns in 2019, and some structures were removed or altered to comply.
But an abandoned bungee tower, waterslides, go-kart tracks, and other buildings still remain standing.
The owners have refused to consider any offers to purchase the property, and have done little else to mitigate the eyesore over the last five years.
For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.
