This report has been updated.
State transportation crews were clearing N.C. Highway 12 and rebuilding dunes in the wake of Hurricane Erin’s pass offshore, as flooding conditions continued and the road remained closed Friday morning.
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Friday morning’s high tide breached dunes in two new locations along N.C. 12, including a 200-foot-long breach at the Canal Zone just south of Oregon Inlet and a 30-foot-long breach in a dune at the visitor center for the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.
In addition, ocean overwash was occurring at Buxton, north of Hatteras, and on the north end of Ocracoke Island.
“Our crews are out, and at the very least we still have no indication of pavement damage, but NC12 remains CLOSED at the Marc Basnight Bridge and on the north end of Ocracoke at this time,” according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s N.C. 12 Facebook page.
Later on Friday, crews from Tyrrell, Hyde and Currituck counties arrived to help get the highway ready to reopen, although there remained no time certain for that to happen. Officials said that before the highway can be reopened, ocean overwash had to stop, dune breaches must be repaired and the highway cleared of standing water and sand, an inspection for pavement damage and repairs completed, if needed.
“When we have a timeline on reopening, we will say so here,” officials posted on the page. “We will issue a press release. We’d shout it from the mountaintops if there were any mountains around here to shout it from.”
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The highway will remained closed until it is safe to open, officials said.
