UPDATE: N.C. Highway 12 reopens on northern Ocracoke Island
UPDATE: N.C. Highway 12 has reopened on northern Ocracoke Island as of 5:00 p.m. on Friday, and ferry service has resumed, per an update from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT).
“Good news! NC12 on the north end of Ocracoke reopened at 5 pm today.,” stated NCDOT in a social media update. “NCDOT removed a lot of sand today & water has receded. Traffic will proceed on one lane until [the] pavement can be repaired. Drive carefully & expect delays at automated traffic signals. With NC12 now open on Ocracoke, the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry has resumed its normal schedule.”
Click here for a PDF of the ferry schedule for all three Ocracoke Island routes.
The original story is below.
N.C. Highway 12 is open and passable on Hatteras Island as of 8:00 a.m. Friday, however, the highway is closed on northern Ocracoke Island due to oceanside flooding that also caused a crack in the roadway, per an update from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT).
“N.C. Highway 12 from Basnight Bridge to Hatteras is open with sand & water on the road,” stated the 6:47 a.m. update. “But NC12 on Ocracoke from the ferry terminal to the pony pens remains closed this morning due to sand and overwash from last night’s storm. NCDOT will assess NC12 and reopen when it is safe to do so.”
Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry operations were suspended due to deteriorating weather conditions on Thursday, April 11, at 7:15 p.m.
Additional ocean overwash is possible on Friday morning on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands, and is most likely around high tide at 11:15 a.m.
Wind gusts of 25-35 mph are expected most of the day, but winds will start to diminish by Saturday morning. On the soundside, minor to locally moderate inundation of 1-2 ft. above dry ground is possible through Friday, and is most likely from Duck to Avon.
A partial outage of some communication services in Hatteras Village and Ocracoke on Thursday was not related to the weather, but rather a fiber optic cable that was damaged by construction crews in Frisco, according to an update from SamWalkerOBXNews.com. The issue has been repaired, and all internet and cell phone service was restored by late Thursday.
- For more information on the local weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/mhx for weather information, or the National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NWSMoreheadCity/.
- To get notified of ferry delays or cancellations, sign up for text and/or email alerts via the N.C. Ferry System’s FINS system: www.ncdot.gov/fins. Users will get notified of any schedule changes directly from the terminal, and can unsubscribe at any time.
- For updates regarding road conditions, visit DriveNC.gov and follow the North Carolina Department of Transportation and NCDOT NC 12 on Facebook. The Dare County Sheriff’s Office also shares local road condition updates on its Facebook page.
