Project to replace sandbags on Ocracoke Island is complete; Both lanes of N.C. Highway 12 open
An extensive project to repair pavement and replace sandbags along N.C. Highway 12 on the north end of Ocracoke Island is complete, per an update from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT).
The single-lane closure that has been in effect since April has also ended, and both lanes of the highway are open.
Earlier in 2024, the NCDOT awarded a $489,000 contract to Barnhill Contracting of Rocky Mount to replace an estimated 800 sandbags on northern Ocracoke Island, in order to restore the protective barrier that protects this section of N.C. Highway 12 from ocean overwash.
After a series of winter and spring storms that further eroded the area, (including an April storm that also caused cracks in the pavement), the number of sandbags that were replaced or repaired increased to a total of 2,215.
The sandbag portion of the project was completed on Friday, May 17, and the final steps of roadway repairs were finished this past week.
The North Carolina Ferry Division will also be conducting a dredging project in the South Dock ferry basin, which will result in an additional 37,000 cubic yards of sand that can be deposited on top of the sandbags.
In February 2020, 2,500 sandbags were placed along 4,200 feet of roadway on the north end of the island in response to the lingering effects of 2019’s Hurricane Dorian.
