OUTER BANKS, N.C. – NC 12 reopened between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe at noon on Wednesday.
The stretch of NC 12 on Hatteras Island had been closed since 5 p.m. Saturday. A powerful storm washed out several dunes and blew sand and ocean overwash onto the road.
NCDOT crews inspected NC 12 on Ocracoke Island and saw no additional structural damage. However, the storm did cause some dune breaches on Ocracoke Island within the area still being repaired from Hurricane Dorian.
This will delay Friday’s scheduled reopening of the Ocracoke Island section of NC 12.
On November 20, the Ocracoke Deputy Control Group met and voted to change their original recommendation to the Hyde County Board of Commissioners to lift the evacuation order on November 22, which is immediately after the reopening of NC 12.
Due to the damage caused by the storm, repair work to the highway is expected to take an additional two weeks to complete. The control group has recommended to the board of commissioners that the evacuation order for visitors be lifted on December 2, regardless of any other setbacks.
After the evacuation order is lifted, visitors will be immediately allowed to access Ocracoke. Ferry operations will return to the paid reservation system normally in place.
Once access has been granted, people are advised to be aware of any obstacles while on the island. Visitors should also be advised that there are limited lodging accommodations, food service, gas availability and other services normally available to the visiting public.
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