Some Sand and Saltwater Remain on Roadways; Officials Hope to Reopen N.C. 12 Today

Patches of deep sand and standing saltwater remained on sections of N.C. Highway 12 and in local oceanside neighborhoods on Wednesday morning in areas where multiple cycles of ocean overwash occurred with this past weekend’s nor’easter.

Sand and saltwater was reported in central Avon near Ocean View Drive, in northern Hatteras and north Buxton, and north of Rodanthe and Pea Island.

Flood waters had noticeably diminished by Wednesday, and N.C. Highway 12 was passable from Rodanthe to Hatteras village. Hatteras Island schools also resumed their normal schedules on Wednesday.

Per a Tuesday afternoon update, state transportation officials hope to reopen N.C. Highway 12 between Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe today, if no additional damage to the highway is found.

The stretch of N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island has been closed since 5 p.m. on Saturday. The powerful storm washed out several dunes and blew large amounts of sand and ocean overwash onto the road.

NCDOT crews and contractors are continuing to clear sand and debris from the highway to make the road safe for travel.

NCDOT crews also inspected N.C. 12 on Ocracoke Island Monday afternoon and saw no additional structural damage. Transportation officials say the storm caused some dune breaches on Ocracoke Island within the area still being repaired from Hurricane Dorian. This portion of N.C. 12 has remained closed since Dorian struck in early September. Last weekend’s storm will delay this Friday’s scheduled reopening of the Ocracoke Island section of N.C. 12. At this time, officials are still assessing the road to determine what repairs will be needed to enable the road to be reopened.

For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.