Project to replace sandbags on Ocracoke Island will continue until Mid-May

A project to repair pavement and replace sandbags along N.C. Highway 12 on the north end of Ocracoke Island is in progress, and is expected to continue until May 17, per an update from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT).

N.C. Highway 12 was routinely flooded by ocean overwash during multiple storms in the winter and spring of 2024. In March, the NCDOT awarded a $489,000 contract to Barnhill Contracting of Rocky Mount to replace and add sandbags along the compromised section of the highway.

As of last week, the contractor has replaced or repaired 1,850 sandbags, with about 350 left to go. In addition, the NCDOT is simultaneously repairing about 950 feet of pavement that was damaged during storms on April 11-12.

Weather permitting, the sandbag and road repair efforts should be finished on or around May 17. At that point, the alternating single-lane closures that are in place for the duration of the work will end.

Meanwhile, the North Carolina Ferry Division will 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.

The project is expected to begin by the end of the month, and once complete, the sand from that project will be used to cover the new sandbags on northern Ocracoke Island. During this portion of the work, traffic will only be stopped when equipment is offloading sand.

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.