The 2026 budget mandates that NCDOT begin collecting tolls for the currently free Currituck-Knotts Island, Bayview-Aurora, Hatteras-Ocracoke and Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach ferries by Jan. 1, 2027.
Dare County
Dare to host community meeting on recent NC 12 closure
Dare County and N.C. Department of Transportation officials will discuss monitoring procedures and take feedback from the public on ways to enhance communication before, during and after future weather-related closures to portions of N.C. Highway 12 at an Aug. 18 community meeting.
Park Service to close section of Buxton beach for groin repair
The Dare County project to repair the southernmost groin in Buxton is taking place in conjunction with a beach nourishment project in the Hatteras Island village.
Dare seeks input to identify pedestrian improvement needs
Residents, property owners and visitors of Dare County may submit suggestions in an online survey created to identify where crosswalks or other pedestrian improvements are needed in unincorporated areas of the county.
Weather service to offer hurricane preparedness forums
The public discussions include a presentation from a meteorologist on hurricanes and the impacts on eastern North Carolina.
Budget, donors, grants total $31 million for wildlife crossings
Wildlife advocates are hailing the recently approved state budget for including $10 million of a $31 million project to build 11 protected road crossings for wildlife with corresponding fencing along 2.5 miles of U.S. 64 from the east end of East Lake on the Dare County mainland to west of Robertson Landing Road by 2031.
Audit reveals hundreds of potentially contaminated landfills
A state audit released Monday found that more than three-quarters of almost 700 identified landfill sites where municipal solid waste disposal occurred without regulatory oversight have never been investigated by state environmental regulators.
Manns Harbor Bridge repairs to be ‘most complete’ in decades
The harsh marine environment has taken its toll on the nearly 70-year-old William B. Umstead Bridge, and the modern materials but laborious application required are driving up the price tag and lengthening the timeline for the ongoing repairs.
Agencies plod on as audit shows Currituck bridge funding gap
Amid a bad financial outlook and local opposition and concerns, a recent state audit of the long-planned transportation project paints a bleak picture with shortfalls nearly impossible to fill.
Tabb’s Trails: Resilience, beauty, variety in Nags Head Woods
Coastal reporter Kip Tabb explores Nags Head Woods Preserve, The Nature Conservancy’s 14-acre protected maritime forest on the Outer Banks.
Dare to host post-disaster response role-playing simulation
The simulation in Dare County June 18 will show participants the challenges and hurdles faced by those affected in the weeks following a disaster.
Brinson touts bills to ax ocean erosion-control structure ban
Sen. Bob Brinson discussed the bills last week in committee, measures that would undo four decades of coastal policy, just as the science advisory panel to the Coastal Resources Commission readies a report on these structures’ effects and effectiveness.
NCDOT begins planning wildlife crossing structures for US 64
NCDOT officials said the state agency is planning a project to install wildlife crossing structures on U.S. 64 in Dare County to help keep drivers safe and prevent crashes with wild animals.
‘Too soon’ to see NC’s effects from a NextEra-Dominion deal
The potential $67 billion, all-stock merger of electric utilities, Virginia-based Dominion Energy and Florida-based NextEra Energy, could boost further renewable power development in northeastern North Carolina and create a massive utility, but whether it will be an overall good thing for the Tar Heel State remains to be seen.
Recalling George Barnes, first Jockeys Ridge superintendent
Sam Bland pays tribute to his recently deceased friend, George Grantham Barnes, who, as Jockeys Ridge State Park’s first superintendent, leaves indelible footprints in the park’s constantly shifting sands.
Final federal permit clears way for Buxton groin repair project
By receiving the Army Corps permit this week, Dare County has cleared the final regulatory hurdle for the project to repair the southernmost of Buxton’s three groins.
