Northeaster sets back DOT progress on Highway 12

A northeaster overnight and today brought rain, wind, and flooding today to parts of the Outer Banks already hard hit by Hurricane Sandy, and likely caused additional damage along Highway 12 in Dare County, according to a North Carolina Department of Transportation news release.

NCDOT crews will begin fully assessing the damage from the latest storm tomorrow morning. Once the assessment is complete, the department will have a better idea of the extent of the damage the storm caused and how it will affect the completion of the repairs already underway.

Significant overwash has occurred in northern Rodanthe at Mirlo Beach.  And the department expects additional impacts from the northeaster at high tide tonight and in the morning.

In Kitty Hawk, the northeaster pushed sand and water onto Highway 12, which is locally known as the Beach Road.  Strong waves also carried away most of the sand that the NCDOT crews spent days piling up along the beach road to rebuild the dune that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.
 
As the northeaster passed along the Outer Banks, crews continued to work on Bonner Bridge, move sand in areas that were not impacted by overwash, and repair the approaches to the temporary bridge.
 
NCDOT continues to work to provide four-wheel drive access via Highway 12 between the Bonner Bridge and Rodanthe. Once a safe route is in place, crews will open one lane of the Bonner Bridge for four-wheel-drive vehicles only for travel to and from Hatteras Island.

Currently, the only access for residents and visitors to Hatteras Island is by ferry – emergency ferry from Stumpy Point to Rodanthe or Pamlico Sound ferries from Swan Quarter and Cedar Island to Ocracoke and then another ferry trip from Ocracoke to Hatteras.

Ferry information is listed below.

Emergency ferry schedule

The emergency ferry is open to everyone, including visitors.
 
Those wishing to use the emergency route are reminded to expect waits and to be patient, as priority status is still in effect. Repair and supply trucks have priority at all times. Dare County residents have priority Monday through Friday.
 
The Stumpy Point-Rodanthe schedule is:

Departing Stumpy Point at 5 a.m., 6:30, 8, 9:30, 11, 12:30 p.m., 2, 3:30, 5 and 9:30.

Departing Rodanthe at 6 a.m., 7:30, 9, 10:30, noon, 1:30 p.m., 3, 4:30, 6 and 7:30.

Ferry information is available by calling 800-293-3779 (BY-FERRY) and pressing 1, or via Twitter at www.twitter.com/ncdot_ferry.

Directions to the Stumpy Point Emergency Ferry Dock at 100 Log Storage Road, off Highway 264:  Take Highway 64 to Highway 264.  Follow Highway 264 approximately 13 miles past the entrance to the village of Stumpy Point.  Signs for emergency ferry service are posted to ferry entrance that will be on your left. 

Directions to the Rodanthe Emergency Ferry Dock at 23170 Myrna Peters Road, Rodanthe:  Turn west off Highway 12 onto Myrna Peters Road, which is located just north of the Community Building in Rodanthe. 

Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry schedule

Visitors can now enter Hatteras Island via the Hatteras Inlet ferry. The ferry is still running every two hours.

The Hatteras-Ocracoke schedule is

Departing Hatteras at 6 a.m., 8, 10, noon, 2 p.m., 4, 6, 8, 10 and midnight; and

Departing Ocracoke at 5 a.m., 7, 9, 11, 1 p.m., 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11.

For visitors wishing to come to Hatteras through Ocracoke, keep in mind that travel from Cedar Island to Ocracoke and Swan Quarter to Ocracoke requires a reservation by calling 1-800-293-3779.

Swan Quarter and Cedar Island ferries

For schedules and reservations on the ferries from the mainland to Ocracoke, go to the N.C. Ferry Division website at http://www.ncdot.gov/ferry/.

The department urges motorists to “know before you go” about traffic conditions along the Outer Banks. For real-time travel information at any time, call 511, visit www.ncdot.gov/travel or follow NCDOT on Twitter at www.ncdot.gov/travel/twitter/.
 
Another option is NCDOT Mobile, a phone-friendly version of the NCDOT website. To access it, type “m.ncdot.gov” into the browser of your smartphone and bookmark it for future reference. NCDOT Mobile is compatible with the iPhone, Android and some newer Blackberry phones.