State transportation officials plan to end the emergency ferry route between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point Wednesday afternoon now that N.C. Highway 12 on Pea Island has reopened to both directions after being closed nearly a week because of storm damage.
Additionally, all entry restrictions for Hatteras Island will be lifted at 7 a.m. Thursday.
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The final emergency ferry departure from Stumpy Point is at 2 p.m. and from Rodanthe at 3:30 p.m. Once the emergency route closes, ferries will be repositioned to their regular routes, and full service on the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry route will resume Thursday morning.
The temporary one-lane gravel road serving as N.C. 12 between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe reopened to northbound traffic Tuesday afternoon and southbound traffic resumed Wednesday morning five days after a nor’easter damaged a 1,000-foot section of N.C. 12 on Pea Island and forced the road’s closure. The gravel road is a temporary fix as NCDOT crews work to reconstruct the two-lane, paved highway.
The emergency ferry and the regular Hatteras-Ocracoke routes have been moving “critical goods and people on and off Hatteras Island since Sunday morning while N.C. 12 was closed on Pea Island. As of Wednesday morning, the emergency route had moved 1,702 people and 1,030 vehicles off and on Hatteras Island,” officials said.
Hatteras island is still under Dare County’s entry restrictions and limited to essential personnel, residents, property owners, and employees until Thursday morning. Ocracoke Island residents with proper identification are also allowed entry, per new State of Emergency.
State Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson visited the area Tuesday, including Stumpy Point and Pea Island, before N.C. 12 reopened to northbound traffic.
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“We’re grateful to everyone who put their lives aside over the past week to reopen this road, activate an emergency ferry route and keep people informed about the major work being done to restore travel on the Outer Banks,” Johnson said in a release. “We couldn’t do this work without strong partnerships with our federal, state and local partners.”
Dare County released Tuesday afternoon in a video update from Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard highlights the coordinated efforts of Dare County,, NCDOT and its Ferry Division, Dare County Emergency Management personnel and other partners to maintain access to the island.
