The North Carolina Department of Transportation said this week that it will conduct continuous lane closures on a major Beaufort County bridge over the next two years.

On Monday, crews are to begin preservation work along a portion of U.S. Highway 17 that connects Washington to Chocowinity. The 16-year-old bridge crosses over U.S. 17 Business and the Tar River.

This preservation work is part of routine maintenance to maximize the lifespan of the structure, officials noted in the announcement.

Crews are to begin by altering the existing pavement markings. Once installed, the inside lanes in both directions will close first, leaving the outside lanes open to traffic. Once interior lane work is completed, the outside lanes will close and the inside lanes will open to traffic.

Through traffic will be maintained for the duration of the project, officials said. Work is expected to last until summer 2028.

Drivers should use caution when traveling through the work zone and plan for increased travel times.

You can get real-time travel information at DriveNC.gov or by following NCDOT on social media.

North Carolina Department of Transportation officials are kicking off this year’s spring litter sweep this weekend.

The biannual statewide roadside litter removal initiative, ​​usually held last two weeks of April and September, encourages residents to join efforts in their community to help clean up North Carolina’s roadways. 

The 2026 spring litter sweep begins Saturday and ends April 25.

While NCDOT does not assign specific dates, groups or individuals can contact for recommendations their NCDOT County Maintenance Yard office​ or local coordinator for NCDOT’s Litter Management Program, who are responsible for managing anti-litter programs, such as Adopt-A-Highway and Litter Sweep, in their assigned counties.

NCDOT does provide cleanup supplies, such as reversible orange-blue trash bags, gloves and orange safety vests, that can be obtained from the volunteer’s county maintenance yard or through the local coordinator.

Organizers are asking volunteers that find anything unusual or interesting during the litter sweep cleanup, use the hashtag, #StrangeLitter on social media​.​​

More details and a frequently asked questions are on NCDOT’s website.

North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division is expanding the schedules of four ferry routes to accommodate the increase in spring traffic.

As of Tuesday, the Hatteras-Ocracoke route increased daily departures from 36 to 52, and the Swan Quarter-Ocracoke and Cedar Island-Ocracoke schedules both increased from four to six daily departures.

The Southport-Fort Fisher route moved to its spring schedule, increasing daily departures on weekdays only from 28 to 32, but the weekend schedule will remain unchanged.

The Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach, Bayview-Aurora and Currituck-Knotts Island routes will all remain on their year-round schedules.

Spring ferry schedules as of Tuesday, March 31, were the following:

Hatteras-Ocracoke

• From Hatteras: 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m., 11 p.m., and midnight.
• From Ocracoke: 4:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., noon, 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m., and midnight.

Cedar Island-Ocracoke

• From Cedar Island: 7:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 4:30 p.m.
• From Ocracoke: 7:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m.

Swan Quarter-Ocracoke

• From Swan Quarter: 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
• From Ocracoke: 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m.

Southport-Fort Fisher weekdays

• From Southport: 5:30 a.m., 7 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 6:15 p.m.
• From Fort Fisher: 6:15 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7 p.m.

The full 2026 schedule is available for download. For real time text or email notifications on schedule adjustments and other ferry information, sign up for the Ferry Information Notification System at www.ncdot.gov/fins​.

Businesses now can apply for federal funds to build and operate electric vehicle charging stations along state interstates and major highways.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced Friday that requests for proposals will close at midnight May 11 for the second round of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, which will provide money to help build and operate 16 EV charging stations along the state’s alternative fuel corridors.

Businesses interested in applying should visit NCDOT’s NEVI Program website to view the request for proposal documents, applications, a geographic information system- or GIS-based map with the proposed locations for the EV charging stations, and other resources.

This latest batch of EV chargers will add to the chargers being constructed along interstates and highways by six firms already under contract.

North Carolina received $109 million in NEVI funding to build out EV infrastructure along a network of approved interstates and highway corridors and in communities.

The federally subsidized program is meant to supplement the state’s existing DC fast charging ports. All of the charging stations funded through the program will be privately owned and operated.

NCDOT expects it will take another three years to build out the remaining charging infrastructure on the alternative fuel corridors such as Interstate 40, I-77 and U.S. 17.

Once these charging stations are built, the state will transition to Phase 2 of the EV buildout that will focus on Level 2 chargers that take between 4 and 8 hours to charge a vehicle, and DC fast chargers.

NEVI funds are to be used to reimburse businesses for project costs, including procurement, installation and operation of the EV charging stations.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s State Energy Office has released a plan that identifies ways to cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The North Carolina Comprehensive Climate Action Plan, or CCAP, includes resilience and carbon reduction measures to meet the goal of Executive Order 246, which was signed by former Gov. Roy Cooper in early 2022 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% below 2005 levels by 2030.

“The Comprehensive Climate Action Plan lays out a path for how North Carolina can successfully achieve its greenhouse gas reduction goals,” DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson stated in a release. “Investing in clean energy and energy efficiency will ensure that electricity supplies are reliable and affordable for families and businesses while driving down greenhouse gas pollution.”  

The plan targets six key areas, including electricity generation, industry, transportation, buildings, waste management and natural and working lands.

The state’s 2024 Greenhouse Gas Inventory forms the analytical foundation for the six key sectors by establishing a statewide baseline for past emissions and future emissions projections, allowing the state to evaluate the potential impact of future greenhouse gas reduction measures. 

Specific strategies such as increasing options for renewable electricity, improving energy efficiency in buildings, and expanding electric vehicle use and land-based carbon sequestration, will help the state reach this carbon reduction goal, according to state officials.

While a majority of the measures the plan identifies are already funded or anticipate funding, in order for the plan to be successfully long-term, continued and increased investments will need to be made to strengthen resilience and reduce climate pollution, support economic development and workforce readiness, and deliver cleaner air and healthier communities.

“Implementing projects to achieve the measures in this plan will result in significant energy savings in all sectors of the economy: electricity, industry, buildings, waste and more, which will help North Carolina keep energy costs down, reduce strain on the grid and help us meet our quickly growing energy demands,” State Energy Office Director Julie Woosley said in a release.

DEQ first published a Priority Climate Action Plan in 2024 after the agency received $3 million in Climate Pollution Reduction Grant planning funds. This plan identified the state’s highest priority greenhouse gas reduction measures.

The CCAP builds on that plan by updating and expanding greenhouse gas emission strategies through new data, modeling and stakeholder input, and identifying strategies that can be implemented and are feasible and measurable, according to a DEQ release.

A state historical marker commemorating the life and accomplishments of Zachariah Jacobs, a free-born African American patriot soldier who served in multiple regiments during the Revolutionary War, will be dedicated next week in downtown Wilmington.

The North Carolina Highway Historical Marker will be dedicated at 10 a.m. on Thursday at the corner of Third and Grace streets in Wilmington.

Jacobs was in his 20s when he was drafted into the Bladen County Regiment of the North Carolina Militia as a private in late 1778.

In only a matter of a few months, Jacobs marched with his regiment through South Carolina into Georgia, where he fought in the Battle of Briar Creek in March 1779.

That battled ended in defeat for the American forces, “and amid the confusion of retreat, Jacobs returned to his home in Brunswick County,” according to the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Roughly two years later, in early 1781, he rejoined the militia, serving a nine-month term during which in March of that year he fought in one of the most significant battles in the Southern campaign, the Battle of Guildford Court House.

It was during this battle that Jacobs sustained a wound to one of his legs. After spending time recovering in a hospital, he started his journey home, only to be captured by Loyalist soldiers and taken to British Maj. James Henry Craig in Bladen County.

Craig later paroled Jacobs, who returned briefly returned to civilian life before enlisting for another nine-month term in October 1781 in a North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Line.

In March 1782, under Maj. Michael Rudolph in operations near Charleston, South Carolina, the unit in which Jacob served captured the British galley Alligator on the Ashley River, a move notable for its disruption to British supply lines.

Jacobs spent a majority of that tour stationed at Ashley Hill, after which time he marched to Wilmington and was discharged in December 1782.

He lived out his remaining years in Brunswick and New Hanover counties.

After successfully applying for a federal pension in April 1835, Jacobs received $28.33 semiannually for 17 months of service as a private.

He died April 10, 1847 in New Hanover County. He was 93.

His widow, Sally Jacobs, would later secure a pension in recognition of her late husband’s contributions.

“Jacobs’ story underscores the vital role played by free people of color in the Revolutionary War. His perseverance through multiple enlistments, wounds, captivity, and eventual recognition reflects the broader struggle for liberty that defined the era,” according to NCDNCR.

The Highway Historical Marker Program is a collaboration between the North Carolina departments of Natural and Cultural Resources and Transportation.

More information about the historical marker is available at https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2026/02/06/zachariah-jacobs-d-125 or by calling (919) 814-6625.

Travelers using U.S. Highway 70 to cross the Trent River should expect nightly closures through the next six weeks while North Carolina Department of Transportation crews replace bridge joints.

Work began Sunday on U.S. 70 East near mile marker 417 and will continue for about three weeks from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Friday. After the eastbound lanes are complete, crews are expected to begin March 29 maintenance work on U.S. 70 West, also near mile marker 417.

Work on each section of the bridge is expected to take about three weeks on each side of the highway, with the road fully reopened by late April, transportation officials said. This work is weather-dependent and could be rescheduled.  

For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.

HERTFORD — Even as the proposed Mid-Currituck bridge project has been uncharacteristically zipping along in the planning process, a new analysis of two revenue options has cast doubts on the project’s future, with serious concerns raised about the latest estimated construction costs that hover around $1.2 billion.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation presented a report Feb. 18 to the Albemarle Regional Planning Organization comparing a traditional toll project and a “P3” toll project, as required by federal law, to determine “value for money.” With a traditional toll project, the state is responsible for financial, operational and construction-related risks. A “P3” toll project is where a private sector/single developer has responsibility for revenue, financial, operational and construction-related risks.

“The base case financial results from the comparative analysis reveal that neither the Traditional Toll Delivery nor the P3 Toll Delivery are currently financially feasible,” the report said. “The analysis highlights funding gaps of $1,005 million for the Traditional Toll Delivery and $875 million for the P3 Toll Delivery, both of which exceed the $173 million of committed STIP (State Transportation Improvement Plan) funding.”

And it doesn’t appear that sunny prospects are around the corner. “Project costs have continued to increase above inflation and any schedule delays would likely increase costs further,” the report adds.

NCDOT has scheduled another presentation to the Albemarle Regional Planning Organization of the Mid-Currituck bridge comparative analysis for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Albemarle Commission headquarters, 512 South Church St., Hertford.

A decision on the next step must be made by the organization’s board by its April meeting.

Although the transportation department and the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, the state agency responsible for tolling, are not advocating for any particular decision, the report said, it did cite several potential options.

One option is to adjust the STIP schedule and submitting it again to compete for funding, or removing the project from the schedule all together, which would free up the $173 million bridge allocation to be used for other Division 1 projects. Other options are to continue applying for federal grants, looking for other funding sources, consider local sales or occupancy taxes, and/or request an annual state appropriation.

Despite the challenging budgetary situation, the bridge agencies are still in the fight, with both NCDOT and the Turnpike Authority continuing to advance the project toward construction, Logen Hodges, the authority’s marketing and communications director, said in an email responding to questions from Coastal Review.

So far, he said, three permits have been issued for the project, including those issued by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s divisions of Water Resources and Coastal Management on Sept. 19, 2025, and one issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Oct. 28, 2025. While geotechnical investigations are being completed, another permit application to the Coast Guard is pending.

First identified as a need in 1975, the proposed bridge would connect the Currituck mainland at Aydlett to Corolla, on the Currituck Outer Banks. The 4.66-mile-long bridge would cross Currituck Sound and a 1.5-mile-long bridge would cross Maple Swamp on the mainland side about 25 miles south of the Virginia state line.

But the project, which has a timeline of five years for design and construction, has been rife with conflict, budget shortfalls, waning and waxing political support and repeated legal challenges. Dare and Currituck counties, and most of their respective towns and villages, have been pushing for the bridge for decades as a necessity to decrease traffic volume and improve hurricane evacuation.

At the same time, vocal opponents, many of them residents from both sides of the proposed bridge, have maintained that the bridge would be a costly boondoggle that would damage the environment and increase traffic.

Legal challenges were filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center, which challenged the permit issued by DEQ on different fronts.

“The timeline for resolution of this legal challenge is uncertain,” Hodges wrote. “Due to the pending legal challenge of an environmental permit and additional project funding needs, the project schedule will remain uncertain. To reflect this, the project construction let date has been extended by one year and may continue to be adjusted until a project schedule is determined.” 

On behalf of No Mid-Currituck Bridge, a citizens’ group opposed to the bridge, and the Sierra Club, an environmental nonprofit group, the SELC submitted a Petition for a Contested Case Hearing to the state in November that challenged the DEQ’s Coastal Area Management Act, or CAMA, permit. 

The petition argues, among others, that the bridge will bring adverse effects and disrupt communities on both sides.

“The permit for the construction of the Bridge Alternative would induce dramatic increases in traffic and development on both the mainland and Outer Banks, strain already overburdened coastal wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, permanently harm estuarine waters, wetlands, and other surface waters,” the document states.

In a separate action, the law center submitted a petition for judicial review to the state in December, also challenging the issuance of the permit by Coastal Resources Commission and DEQ.

To the community on the northern Outer Banks and the southern end of mainland Currituck County, as well as for visiting property owners and tourists, the summer traffic crossing the Wright Memorial Bridge back and forth from Currituck to Dare counties is an annual headache, with bumper-to-bumper traffic clogging roads to and from Corolla every weekend and holiday.

According to a September 2025 traffic and revenue report, more than 1 million vehicles crossed the Wright Memorial Bridge in July 2023, the highest count to date. 

“The proposed (Currituck bridge) is expected to provide significant distance and time savings to residents and visitors, particularly to those that travel to the most northern portion of Dare County and the Currituck County portion of the Outer Banks,” the report said. “The (bridge) will reduce peak season congestion for trips to the south, facilitate planned growth north of the (Wright bridge), and improve emergency evacuation for those residing on all parts of the Outer Banks.”

Tolls would be charged starting in 2032, according to the report. Minimum tolls in 2023 dollars for cars would be $6 each direction, with discounts for tolls paid by transponders and future increases reflecting the inflation rate. Trucks and other heavy vehicles will pay proportionally higher tolls.

The report also states that the optimal toll rate of $15 would generate 90% of the maximum forecasted toll revenue. In the numerous models, calculated rates were as high as $40. 

But Hodges cautioned that the models are not just that.

 “While estimated toll rates were used for the purpose of the analysis, all toll rates are set by the North Carolina Turnpike Authority Board of Directors,” he wrote in the email. “Formal toll rates for the Mid-Currituck Bridge would not be established until closer to the facility’s opening.”

The $173 million in committed division funds represents about 20% of the total STIP funding for Division 1, Hodges said. Depending on the outcome of the project schedule, the DEQ permits would not expire on their own, he said. The Corps’ permit, however, is set to expire iis set to expire on Dec. 31,2030, unless an extension is granted.

But if the Albemarle Regional Planning Organization decides to move the project to the last five years of the STIP, he said, it could potentially be eligible for funding at statewide, regional impact funding and division needs tiers.

“Ultimately whether the project is funded and programmed for construction would be dependent on available funding at each tier and how the project scores relative to other projects submitted for prioritization,” he wrote.

Whatever its fate, it’s taken a lot of resources for the Mid-Currituck Bridge proposal to finally reach the runway, only to be stalled indefinitely — or eliminated. 

“Since the early 1990s when the project was first conceived,” Hodges wrote, “approximately $60 million has been spent on early project work, including preliminary engineering, environmental analysis and initial right-of-way acquisition.”

Drivers in Brunswick County and the Wilmington area can expect delays over the next several weeks as crews resume construction improvements along a stretch of Interstate 140.

North Carolina Department of Transportation contractors will close lanes daily starting Monday along a 6-mile stretch of the interstate between U.S. 17 and U.S. 74.

One lane will remain open in each direction.

The road improvement project, which began last year, includes milling and resurfacing, rumble strip installation, pavement marking installation, guardrail improvements and bridge rehabilitation on both eastbound and westbound lanes.

All lanes will reopen once work is complete, which is expected by early May.

DOT encourages drivers to slow down and remain alert through the construction zone, and to consider alternate routes to avoid travel delays.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s ferry system will soon increase the number of departures for the Hatteras-Ocracoke route.

Beginning Tuesday through to March 30, departures of the popular ferry route will jump from 28 to 36.

The new schedule from Hatteras will begin at 5 a.m. then every hour on the hour to 6 p.m., then 8 p.m., 9 p.m., 11 p.m., and midnight.

The first departure time of the day from Ocracoke will be at 4:30 a.m. and proceed as follows: 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m., and midnight. 

The full schedule may be viewed and downloaded on DOT’s website.

To receive text or email notifications on schedule adjustments and other ferry information, you may sign up for the ferry information notification system.

Municipalities have until mid-April to submit their applications for state funds to develop comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian transportation plans.

The 2026 Multimodal Planning Grant Program, administered by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, provides a “comprehensive strategy for expanding bicycle and pedestrian opportunities in a community, rather than support a single project,” and can include facilities, programs, policies and design guidelines that promote safe walking and biking.

Those eligible include the following:

• Municipalities of any size and counties with populations under 100,000 looking to update an existing bicycle or pedestrian plan that is at least five years old.
• Municipalities with populations of less than 10,000 seeking an abbreviated plan focused on prioritizing project identification and implementation for small towns.
• North Carolina colleges and universities.

Officials said the grant helps municipalities:

• Develop a framework for a robust bike/pedestrian environment.
• Identify projects to submit for prioritization and funding in the State Transportation Improvement Program.
• Strengthen ability to secure funding from outside sources.
• Develop an internal approach for implementation.
• Promote bike/pedestrian education and safety in municipalities.
• Develop local policy supportive of bike/pedestrian infrastructure development.

Applications must be submitted online by 5 p.m. April 13. Award recipients will be notified by June. State grants require local matching funds commensurate with population. Watch the webinar for more information on match funding and general program information.

For more information, contact Bryan Lopez at 919-707-2606 or balopez@ncdot.gov.

The North Carolina Division of Coastal Management has objected to the proposed Wilmington Harbor project, concluding that a federal study of the plan is too scant on details and that, as presented, deepening and widening the channel would have “significant adverse impacts to coastal resources.”

The Army Corps of Engineers’ review lacks an evaluation of PFAS in the sediment in the lower Cape Fear River, fails to adequately assess cumulative flooding impacts or thoroughly detail areas where dredged material would be placed, and does not sufficiently account for potential effects on fisheries habitat, freshwater wetlands, shorelines, or state, historic and other properties along the river, the division concluded.

The draft environmental impact statement, or DEIS, the Corps released last September also falls short in analyzing the project’s economic benefits and evaluating “potential economic losses associated with environmental degradation,” Division of Coastal Management Director Tancred Miller wrote to the Corps’ Wilmington District in a 15-page letter dated Feb. 24.

A Corps spokesman, in a statement Wednesday, called the state’s objection “disappointing” and highlighted what the Corps describes as offering “numerous opportunities” to engage with the public and work with state and federal agencies.

The Corps “felt we had been working hand in hand with all our State and Federal partners and resource agencies since we began coordination regarding this project nearly 3.5 years ago,” Jed Cayton, a public affairs specialist with Wilmington District, said in an email. “Given all the integration and engagement throughout this process, the objection provided at this late stage in the process is disconcerting.”

The Corps and North Carolina State Ports Authority are reviewing the division’s letter “to determine how we will proceed,” Cayton said. “Since we are very early in this review, we cannot yet give a specific date for completion.”

The Corps may pause the project and work with the state to try and resolve the state’s concerns or initiate a formal dispute resolution process.

The division’s objection comes a little more than a month after the division granted the Corps’ request to pause its review of whether the proposed project was consistent with state coastal management program laws, regulations and policies.

Miller wrote that, during that pause, the division “detailed its concerns along with possible paths forward to address the information deficiencies.”

On Feb. 16, the Corps asked the division in an email to resume its review of the project, one that has been highly scrutinized for its potential effects to the environment, shorelines and historic and culturally significant areas along the shores of the lower Cape Fear River.

“Our objection was based on a combination of lack of sufficient information to determine the impacts from PFAS and flooding and anticipated significant adverse impacts to fisheries resources, wildlife habitat and cultural and historic resources,” Miller told the Coastal Resources Commission during its meeting Wednesday in Atlantic Beach.

In his letter, Miller wrote that the lack of information regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances was “of particular concern.”

“The DEIS does not evaluate the potential for contaminant resuspension during dredging and the resulting fate and transport of these chemicals into nearby water bodies and land areas,” the letter states. “This is of particular concern since extensive scientific research has documented the presence and persistence of PFAS over the past decade within the [Cape Fear River Basin], including a growing body of research indicating significant negative ecological implications of PFAS in fish, birds, and reptiles.”

The proposal calls for extending the entrance of the federal navigation channel farther offshore, deepening the channel by 5 feet and widening portions of it from the mouth of the Cape Fear River more than 25 miles to the Wilmington port.

The ports authority says the project is needed to accommodate larger ships, which will attract more import and export business to the port, ease shipping congestion on the East Coast and keep the state’s ports competitive.

But opponents of the proposed project argue it will accelerate erosion and exacerbate flooding, destroy habitat, disperse PFAS in the riverbed’s sediment into marshes and onto public beaches, is not economically justified, and threatens historic and cultural resources along the river.

One such historic site is Orton, a privately owned property that spans some 14,000 acres off the lower Cape Fear River’s western bank in Brunswick County and that includes a former plantation.

Orton owner Louis Bacon has spent millions restoring an expansive rice field system and earthen dike that enslaved Africans built more than two centuries ago to protect the rice fields from the river.

In a statement to Coastal Review on Wednesday, Bacon said the Division of Coastal Management’s objection to the proposed harbor project, “is proof that facts and persistence matter.”

“My concern has always been simple: this project, as proposed, puts undue and unacceptable risk on important historical and ecological sites,” Bacon stated. “The corps has not provided the analysis or safeguards the law requires. At Orton, dredging so close to a 250-year-old earthen dike creates a very real risk of catastrophic failure according to two separate expert firms – collapsing and flooding 350 acres of freshwater rice fields and exceptional wetlands with Atlantic saltwater, thereby eradicating the legacy of enslaved African Americans who built these systems over centuries, a monument to their efforts that I have spent years restoring.

“My objection is rooted in the fact that the project cannot be considered ‘consistent’ with North Carolina’s coastal protections if it causes this much damage,” he continued. “Large infrastructure decisions must be grounded in rigorous scientific evaluations, transparent disclosure, and enforceable protections, because these valuable resources cannot be rebuilt once lost.”

Several towns in Brunswick and New Hanover counties have adopted resolutions urging state and federal agencies to protect a series of islands within the lower Cape Fear River that support 30% of the state’s coastal shorebird population. Those towns have also asked for the creation of a comprehensive, long-term, and fully funded environmental and adaptive management plan to cover costs related to monitoring and mitigation to prevent and repair environmental harm.

Last month, the Wilmington City Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for state and federal decision makers to further review the proposed project.

In his letter, Miller noted that an overwhelming majority of the written comments the division received last year regarding the proposed project opposed it. And everyone who spoke at a public hearing the division hosted in downtown Wilmington last November opposed the project.

Kerri Allen, coastal management program director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation, which publishes Coastal Review, was one of the 72 people who expressed their concerns about the proposed project at that meeting.

“I’m encouraged to see DCM thoughtfully consider the many strong public comments submitted on this project,” Allen said in an email on Wednesday. “The level of engagement from coastal residents, local leaders, and partners shows how much people care, and it matters when that input is reflected in decisions. Our public trust waters belong to everyone, and transparent review like this helps lead to better, more resilient outcomes for our coast.”

Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Ramona McGee echoed similar sentiments in a release Wednesday.

“This decision is welcome news for the people of Wilmington and beyond who cherish the lower Cape Fear River and its surrounding natural areas,” McGee stated. “This $1.3 billion project would put at risk the communities and wildlife that call this region home by exacerbating flooding, destroying habitat, and damaging wetlands. The Lower Cape Fear is already threatened by sea-level rise and industrial pollution – we shouldn’t be further damaging this special place with an unnecessary and costly project.”

Ocean Isle Beach hopes to pump tens of thousands of cubic yards of sand onto the beach at the easternmost tip of the island by this spring as an erosion stopgap.

The Brunswick County town has asked the Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District for authorization to have up to 70,000 cubic yards of sand placed east of its terminal groin where erosion has been chipping away at the shoreline in front of a luxury neighborhood.

The Corps announced late last week that it is accepting public comments through March 8 on the town’s application to modify the federal permit it received in 2016 to build the terminal groin at Shallotte Inlet. 

As it stands, that permit does not allow sand to be placed east of the terminal groin.

A terminal groin is a wall-like structure built perpendicular to the shore at inlets to contain sand in areas with high rates of erosion.

Proposed modifications to the permit include placing sand along an 1,875-foot stretch of shoreline at The Pointe, a gated community whose oceanfront property owners have been desperately trying to hold back an encroaching sea.

Under the terms of the proposed permit changes, this would be a one-time beach nourishment project.

The town is also asking for its permitted sand borrow source in Shallotte Inlet to be expanded from about 83 acres to a little more than 117 acres, to add a new borrow area within the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and be allowed to work outside of the environmental window for dredging from April 30 to June 15.

Ocean Isle Beach Town Manager Justin Whiteside said on Tuesday that the town wants to get the modified permit as quickly as possible in hopes that the sand placement project would coincide with a federal dredging project.

The Corps announced last September it had awarded a nearly $8.5 million contract to maintenance dredge several areas along the Intracoastal, including at the Shallotte Inlet crossing.

Whiteside explained that Ocean Isle Beach anticipates receiving 25,000 cubic yards of sand “that the town is paying for” from the Corps through the inlet crossing project.

“The hope is to get this permit modified within the timeframe that the Corps’ contractor is here on site and then we could contract with them possibly to dredge more in that federal channel or go into that inlet borrow area to put that additional sand there,” he said.

Whiteside said the town does not yet have an approximate cost of its proposal to nourish the beach east of the terminal groin.

Ocean Isle’s east end had for decades been losing ground to chronic erosion, the worst of which occurred along about a mile of ocean shoreline beginning near the inlet.

An encroaching ocean claimed homes, damaged and destroyed public utilities and prompted the North Carolina Department of Transportation to abandon state-maintained streets there.

To stave off further erosion, the town in 2005 was permitted to install a wall of sandbags to protect public roads and infrastructure from getting swallowed up by the sea.

In 2011, Ocean Isle Beach was, along with a handful of other beach communities, allowed to pursue the option of installing a terminal groin at an inlet area after the North Carolina General Assembly repealed a law that banned hardened erosion control structures on the state’s ocean shorelines.

Five years later, the town received state and federal approval to build a 750-foot terminal groin.

But before construction could begin, the Southern Environmental Law Center in August 2017 filed a lawsuit on behalf of the National Audubon Society challenging the Corps’ approval of the project.

More than three years passed before the lawsuit, which later included the town, concluded after an appellate court affirmed a lower court’s decision that the Corps fairly considered the alternatives included in an environmental impact statement examining the proposed project.

Construction of the $11 million project was completed in the spring of 2022, the same year the final plan for The Pointe, a 44-lot subdivision, was approved for development.

By fall 2025, The Pointe’s oceanfront properties were suffering significant erosion.

Last November, the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission unanimously agreed to grant permission to the owners of eight lots in that neighborhood to install larger than typically allowed sandbag structures waterward of their land.

Whiteside said Tuesday that those sandbags had not been installed.

Sand in the area east of the terminal groin, he said, appears to be “recovering a little bit.”

“We think over the past month and a half or so that we’ve gained, just looking at aerial photographs, approximately 5,000 cubic yards of sand that’s deposited east of the groin, so some of the beach is building back up in that area,” Whiteside said.

He explained that in 2022 the town’s federal beach nourishment project took place in conjunction with the construction of the terminal groin.

“The dredger came through and we had a huge spit on the east end of the island and that contractor came through and just dredged right through that spit and took it down to a negative 15-foot elevation,” Whitesaid said. “It’s kind of filled back in now and we’re thinking that’s why we’re seeing the growth back east of the groin. We’re hoping this shows that that’s some of what contributed to it, that it was maybe our own nourishment project through the Corps.”

“But, in the meantime, we know this is a short-term solution that we’ve got to figure out some type of long-term solution to, so our engineer firm is going to be doing some modeling to see what kind of modifications, if any, need to take place to the existing groin,” he continued.

Comments on the proposed project should refer the permit application number (SAW-2011-01241) and may be submitted to the Corps electronically through the Regulatory Request System at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs or by email to Tyler Crumbley at tyler.a.crumbley2@usace.army.mil. 

Written comments may be mailed to Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, Attention: Tyler Crumbley, 69 Darlington Ave., Wilmington, NC  28403.

The Corps will consider written requests for a public hearing to be held to consider the proposed application modifications.

Ferry operations and tram service on Bald Head Island were suspended as of 9 a.m. Friday to allow crews to remove and relocate a ferry that ran aground the previous day.

The Patriot, an 82-foot twin-hulled catamaran, was ferrying 105 passengers when it grounded at the entrance to the south side of the island around 7 a.m. Thursday, according to area media reports.

Passengers were safely moved from the vessel to an island terminal by Coast Guard-Oak Island and TowBoatU.S. crews, according to WECT. No one was injured.

The Wilmington-based television news outlet later reported that officials had, upon inspection, found a steel cable snagged on the ferry’s starboard propellor.

The Coast Guard was investigating.

Ferry operation updates will be provided on Bald Head Island Transportation’s website.

While North Carolina residents are dealing with the inches of snowfall in the aftermath of this weekend’s winter storm, National Park Service officials on the Outer Banks are also dealing with the debris left behind by four more houses collapsing on Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s beaches.

National Park Service Public Affairs Specialist Mike Barber told Coastal Review Monday that Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials were notified that a house in Buxton collapsed earlier in the day, around 9 a.m. It was the fourth unoccupied house to collapse since Sunday morning.

The first house at 46201 Tower Circle Road collapsed early Sunday morning. Overnight, two more unoccupied houses at 46215 and 46219 Tower Circle Road fell, then the fourth house, which was at 46285 Old Lighthouse Road, Buxton. These four bring to 31 the total number of houses to collapse on the seashore’s beaches since 2020.

“Cape Hatteras National Seashore advises everyone to stay away from the collapse sites and the surrounding beach area, due to potentially hazardous debris. The beach is closed in front of the entire village of Buxton,” Barber said.

The Outer Banks, like much of the coast, continued to experience compromised roadways Monday and people were advised to stay off the roads unless necessary.

State transportation officials closed N.C. Highway 12 Saturday evening between the Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe, as well as on the north end of Ocracoke. They said Monday that the road would remain closed, “as we continue to see ocean overwash from this weekend’s nor’easter. Overwash also occurring at Buxton corner and on Rodanthe secondaries. Crews will be out working to clear today.”

N.C. 12 experienced ocean overwash and dune breaches on Pea Island Sunday morning, as well in Buxton and in Hatteras.

Additionally, all ferry routes were suspended Friday and remain suspended until conditions are deemed safe for operation, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

NCDOT crews said they were making progress Monday clearing interstates and highways, but dangerous icy spots may remain because temperatures remained low. Gov. Josh Stein’s office and transportation officials urged people to stay off snow- and ice-covered roads and warned people to beware of black ice, which forms when ice and snow melt and then refreeze overnight into hard-to-see slippery patches.

As of late Monday, there were 2,500 NCDOT employees and contractors working to plow snow and spread salt on the highways and secondary routes. Since the storm began affecting the coast Saturday, crews have spread more than 23,000 tons of salt and plowed thousands of miles of roads.

Stein said that the state was “working around the clock to clear roads and get people back to their daily lives as quickly and safely as possible, but because temperatures will remain low overnight, this process takes time. We ask for your patience, and if you need to be on the roads this week, I urge you to slow down, give extra distance, and use caution while traveling.”

His office reported that the sunshine Monday, with temperatures reaching the upper 30s to lower 40s, allowed for snow that fell over the weekend to melt. However, that water will likely refreeze after sunset Monday evening because temperatures are forecast to fall into the teens and 20s.

Temperatures will warm into the low to mid 40s Tuesday before a cold front approaches the region.

The National Weather Service said Monday that for parts of eastern North Carolina, a light wintry mix of snow and freezing rain was possible Wednesday night.

“Please continue to remain vigilant as we are still experiencing extremely cold temperatures across the state,” NC Emergency Management Director Will Ray said in a statement. “As a reminder, several hazards remain, such as the risk of freezing pipes in homes. There are many people in our communities that are especially vulnerable to prolonged cold temperatures, so please check on your friends, family, and neighbors.”

Currituck County Emergency Management, in a social media post around lunchtime Monday, said that NCDOT crews were actively out working on the primary roadways throughout the county.

“While some roads are improving, many side roads remain covered with snow and ice, and freezing temperatures are keeping conditions slick. As temperatures drop and the sun goes down tonight, please be alert for black ice: a thin, nearly invisible layer of ice that forms when moisture refreezes on road surfaces. Black ice is especially common on bridges, shaded areas, overpasses, and low-lying roads, and can cause vehicles to lose traction with little warning,” they warned. “If you must travel, slow down, increase your following distance, and use extra caution. If you can stay home, that remains the safest option.”

Carteret County sent out a similar message Monday.

“Some roadways still have several inches of snow coverage, and partially melted snow and ice are expected to refreeze overnight, creating dangerous travel conditions. Residents are urged to stay off the roads if possible. If travel is necessary, exercise extreme caution, as icy conditions may make driving at posted speeds extremely dangerous and cause vehicles to lose traction with little warning,” according to Carteret County government officials. “Secondary and less-traveled roads are more likely to remain untreated and pose additional risks. Remaining off the roads also allows first responders and emergency management staff to continue their work safely.

Largely because of travel concerns, most county government offices were closed Monday because of the weather, and several had announced plans to close Tuesday as well, including Beaufort, Carteret, Gates, Pamlico, Dare and Hyde counties.

Record snowfall in coastal counties

Assistant State Climatologist Corey Davis, in a blog on this weekend’s snow storm, called the accumulated snow that fell all across North Carolina, “our most widespread wintry event in more than a dozen years, and the biggest snow for some areas in several decades.”

For parts of eastern North Carolina, this was the snowstorm of a lifetime, he continued.

“More than a foot fell over the central Coastal Plain, surpassing every other wintry event so far this century. The 12.5 inches in New Bern and 15 inches in Newport made this the first foot of snow for both areas since December 1989. The highest totals in the state came along the Crystal Coast, including 19.5 inches in Peletier and 17 inches in Swansboro,” he wrote.

In Cape Carteret, near whiteout conditions were observed on Saturday, Davis continues, bordering on blizzard criteria. Beaufort reported three consecutive hours with visibility of a quarter-mile or less, wind gusts of 35 mph or greater, and heavy snow falling or blowing.

Northeast North Carolina from Friday to Sunday experienced between 6 and 10.5 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service Wakefield, Virginia, office, which provides the forecast for the region that includes Ahoskie, Elizabeth City and Currituck County.

Mainland Hyde County experienced a widespread swath of 8 to 12 inches, with localized snowfall totals in some townships exceeding 12 to 16 inches. For Ocracoke Island, “reliable totals” range from 4 to 6 inches, and that accumulation was coupled with “significant coastal flooding and inundation,” county officials announced Monday.

Heading south, centrally located counties including Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Pamlico, Onslow and Tyrrell saw between 2 and 19 inches. Dare experienced the least amount with 2 to 11 inches and Carteret, Craven and Pamlico had areas getting hit with more than 18 inches, according to the Weather Service office in Newport.

“Most remarkably, along the Pamlico River in Beaufort County, this was the first foot of snow in more than 67 years, since December 1958. In that region, reported totals included 17 inches in Bath, 15 inches in Bayview, and 13 inches in Belhaven,” Davis explains in the blog.

“Along with having a strong, moisture-laden low pressure system just offshore, a key factor in ramping up the snowfall amounts was the cold air that created unusually high snow-to-liquid ratios for this part of the country. While Wilmington only measured 0.32 inches of liquid precipitation, that yielded 5.8 inches of fluffy snow – the heaviest snow there since 1989 – at an impressive 18-to-1 ratio,” Davis wrote.

In a Monday morning announcement, Holden Beach officials in Brunswick County warned residents that, although the bridge to the island had reopened, roads on the island were “treacherous.”

Holden Beach’s neighboring island to the west, Ocean Isle Beach, was covered in a whopping 15 inches of snow, according to estimated totals based on National Weather Service reports and local observations.

Farther north in Brunswick County, Leland, Bolivia and Southport all received a reported 9 inches of snow.

Brunswick County announced its offices and facilities will reopen at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The Brunswick County Commissioners meeting postponed Monday had not been rescheduled as of this report.

In New Hanover County, a reported 9 inches of snow accumulated in Carolina Beach. Wilmington saw less with a little under 6 inches of snow.

And, in Pender County, Hampstead received 10 inches of snow, while farther north, areas of Onslow County got upwards from 13 inches accumulation.

From a science perspective

Davis explained to Coastal Review that the coast was hit so hard because, “to put it simply, this was a strong nor’easter setup that happened to be cold enough for snow.”

He said that anytime the state gets these low-pressure systems right off the coast, whether they’re tropical storms or winter storms, “we know they’re capable of some major impacts. And we saw a lot of those typical impacts in this event, including the gusty winds and high surf that has already claimed a couple more houses along the Outer Banks.”

Davis compared this system and the nor’easter that moved up the coast October 2025.

The main low-pressure center started to deepen at pretty much the same location just south of Cape Fear, and the minimum pressure observed at Hatteras was nearly identical: 998.8 millibars in October, and 998.4 millibars during this storm. A millibar is a metric measurement of atmospheric pressure.

“If this had happened at any other time of year, we would have been talking about similar impacts, but with rain instead of snow. Having such cold temperatures in place so far south meant that it fell as all snow, and the snow-to-liquid ratios were off the charts compared to what we’re accustomed to. That let a lot of snow add up very quickly, and with the wind added in, that snow covered everything, and deep,” Davis continued.

When it comes to climate change and storms like these, Davis noted that a “common, or at least vocal, misconception about climate change is that it can and will make cold and snow impossible.”

He explained that while warming temperatures do make some wintry events — like the one from this previous weekend — more marginal for anything frozen, cold and snow are still a part of the winter climate, and big events like this can and do still occur.

“Of course, we’ve also seen the flip side of that, with a nearly three-year stretch with no measurable snowfall across much of the state, the average annual snowfall nearly cut in half in places like Charlotte and Raleigh, and steady warming in our wintertime low temperatures at the rate of about a degree per decade. All of those things — warming with snow events becoming rarer, along with seeing an occasional big snowfall — can still be true,” Davis explained.

“As a scientist, I think it’s important to acknowledge our certainty about climate changes and future projections. We’re very confident that the overall warming trend, especially in our nighttime low temperatures, will continue into the future, and that will continue to reduce our overall snow totals and snow event frequency. We’re less certain about how coastal winter storms like this one may change in the future,” he continued. “We often think about these climate trends as clearly pointing in one direction, but that’s really not true for projections of coastal storms like this, and there are competing forces that may affect how they evolve.”

He said that on one hand, these systems originate in tropical areas and strengthen over the warm ocean, which we know is warming at an even faster rate than the atmosphere, letting these coastal lows strengthen faster and pull in more moisture. But, on the other hand, it’s getting tougher to get temperatures cold enough over land to see all-snow events. These lows tend to bring in warm air in the mid-levels that causes precipitation to transition from snow to sleet, freezing rain, or regular rain, like we saw a couple of weekends ago.

“You might say that this storm offered up the best — or worst, depending on your perspective — of our past and future climates. We had that deep layer of cold air like we saw during our big storms back in the 1970s and 80s, but also a rapidly intensifying coastal low in a very warm and moist ocean environment that was able to drop extreme snowfall amounts,” he said. “That doesn’t mean this sort of event will get any more common in the future. It is now, and always will be, a rare collision of circumstances to bring such a major winter storm over such a large part of the state.”

Though there’s piles of snow out there, Davis said to keep in mind that, in terms of the liquid precipitation totals, most areas saw less than an inch of total liquid during this event, which he said is “a surprisingly low amount, given how much snow we received.”

That matters because it may mean the state sees less drought recovery than expected.

“Most of eastern North Carolina is still in moderate to severe drought, and even after the storm, places like Wilmington, Greenville, and Fayetteville are more than 10 inches below their normal precipitation over the past six months,” Davis said. “We may see some small improvements this week based on that precipitation, and the gradual snow melt may bring a slow recharge in streamflow and soil moisture levels over the next few weeks. But this winter is still tracking as a dry one overall, and we could use some more precipitation in any form before the end of the season to keep from entering the spring and the growing season with a bad drought still going on.”

Millions of dollars have been marked for coastal freight rail upgrades and improvements to include tracks, trestles, culverts and port infrastructure.

The projects are part of a total $16.3 million to go toward freight rail infrastructure improvements to a dozen short-line railroads and at the state Port of Morehead City, North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division officials announced Thursday.

The Morehead City port will see $177,500 for a rail scale installation and $844,860 for rail replacement and upgrades on the property.

The Wilmington Terminal Railroad will receive $627,000 for rail and switch improvements along its mainline corridor.

“These projects deliver significant benefits to North Carolina’s freight rail network,” said Rail Division Director Jason Orthner. “By working closely with our railroad partners, we are strengthening reliability and resiliency, supporting businesses across the state, and reinforcing the rail infrastructure that drives North Carolina’s economy.”

Other funded coastal projects include $1.23 million to the Carolina Coastal Railway for rail and bridge improvements along its Belhaven and Norfolk Southern Railway lines in Beaufort, Greene, Washington, and Wilson counties, and $712,801 for the Chesapeake & Albemarle Railroad’s bridge and track improvements along its mainline corridor and Edenton sidetracks in Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans and Chowan counties.

NCDOT officials said the division’s $16.3 million contribution is funded through the Freight Rail and Rail Crossing Safety Improvement program, which the state legislature established in 2014 to support “the health, safety and performance of the state’s rail infrastructure while establishing partnerships to meet the growing demand for rail service.”

In total, the projects will upgrade more than 95 miles of track and eight railroad bridges and culverts in North Carolina to support an anticipated increase in freight rail traffic statewide.

The Rail Division said its grants are matched by investments from participating railroad companies and the North Carolina Ports Authority. The partnerships are putting $41.5 million into projects that improve North Carolina’s freight rail network.

Other awarded projects and NCDOT’s contribution to each include the following:

• Aberdeen Carolina and Western Railway — $4,845,392 in funding for rail replacement and improvements along its Piedmont Division in Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties.
• Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad — $771,397 for track upgrades and continuity of service on its mainline in Hoke County.
• Alexander Railroad Co. — $381,797 for track and corridor upgrades near the Alexander Industrial Park in Alexander County.
• Alexander Railroad Co. — $495,026 for track and grade-crossing upgrades on the mainline rail corridor in Iredell County.
• Atlantic & Western Railway — $690,440 for corridor improvements and rail track upgrades on the Jonesboro branch in Lee County.
• Great Smoky Mountains Railroad — $1.68 million for track improvements and bridge repairs along its mainline corridor in Jackson, Swain, Macon and Cherokee counties.
• North Carolina and Virginia Railroad — $979,813 for rail replacement and improvements along its mainline corridor in Northampton County.
• Raleigh & Fayetteville Railroad — $999,586 for rail corridor improvements to the Norfolk Southern and VF lines in Wake and Harnett counties.
• Winston-Salem Southbound Railroad — $1.11 million for rail improvements along its W line in Davidson County.
• Yadkin Valley Railroad — $754,700 for track upgrades and rail corridor improvements along its K and CF lines in Yadkin, Surry and Stokes counties.

Motorists planning to travel along N.C. 101 near the primary entrance for Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point should expect delays and detours the remainder of the month.

In total, lane closures are expected to last about two weeks on the 20-plus mile roadway that connects Beaufort and Havelock, bypassing Morehead City, North Carolina Department of Transportation officials said Monday.

Plans are to close both lanes of N.C. 101 between Roosevelt and Cunningham boulevards for milling and resurfacing work starting Tuesday. The road is expected to reopen 5 p.m. Thursday.

Beginning Friday, travelers can expect intermittent lane closures on N.C. 101 between Cunningham and McCotter boulevards while additional milling and resurfacing work is underway. One lane will remain open to through traffic.

There will be signed detour route along McCotter Boulevard.

Use caution when traveling near the area and seek alternate routes to avoid delays, officials said.

For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.

North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division has scheduled four career events along the coast to recruit temporary and seasonal employees to staff its ferries, terminals and shipyard.

Officials said that the seasonal employees are a key part of the ferry system’s service, and they are often the first considered for permanent roles.

“In fact, a majority of last year’s temporary hires transitioned into permanent roles,” Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon said in a statement.

The career events are all from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on the following dates:

• Jan. 14 at NC Works Career Center, 3813 Arendell St., Morehead City.
• Jan. 21 at Hatteras Ferry Operations Center, 59063 N.C. 12, Hatteras.
• Jan. 28 at Southport Ferry Operations Center, 1650 Ferry Road, Southport.
• Feb. 4 at Pamlico River Ferry Operations Center, 229 N.C. 306 North, Bath.

At the events, applications will be accepted for temporary, seasonal employment at all experience levels, from general utility worker to experienced boat captains.

Those looking for permanent employment can learn more about open positions and how to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Card or a Merchant Mariner Credential for the application process. 

Benefits of year-round, full-time permanent employment with the division include competitive salaries, health insurance, retirement benefits, and paid vacation, holiday and sick leave.

For a list of the Ferry Division’s current job openings, visit the state jobs website​ to create a profile and apply for permanent positions. For more information, call 252-370-5573.

Editor’s note: The following is from historian David Cecelski’s “Working Lives: Photographs from Eastern North Carolina, 1937 to 1947.” The Carteret County native introduced the nearly 20-part photo-essay series earlier this year on his website, explaining at the time that the images he selected from the N.C. Department of Conservation and Development Collection were taken in the late 1930s into the early 1950s of the state’s farms, industries, and working people.

In this photograph, we see a long line of fishing nets drying in the sun on Harkers Island, N.C., in the fall of 1944.

It is hard to see them, but there are two men talking in the midst of the net reels.

The photographer’s notes only identify one of the men: Stacy W. Davis, a local fisherman, charter boat captain, and fish dealer. That’s his fish house and dock on the far side of the net reels and fishing nets.

Capt. Stacy had built the fish house just before the war. He and his brother Leslie also owned the S.W. Davis & Brother Seafood Co. in Beaufort, on the other side of the North River.

The shoreline is beautiful, but in a way the tranquility of the scene belies the great upheaval that was happening on the island just before and during the Second World War.

When I was younger, old timers from Harkers Island often told me that it all seemed to start with the great hurricane of ’33, which is a story in itself and one that I think I’ll save for another time.

But not all storms come out of the Atlantic, and what happened over the next few years turned island life upside down more than any hurricane or nor’easter ever had.

Just a few years after the ’33 storm, in 1936, Harkers Island’s first road was paved. The age of automobiles and trucks was coming.

Three years later, in 1939, electricity arrived on the island, delivered via a submarine cable that ran beneath North River.

The stars would never be as bright again.

A year later, in the latter part of 1940, the biggest thing of all happened: workers finished building the first bridge from the mainland to Harkers Island. The bridge opened to the public a few weeks later.

That was on New Years Day 1941. Many a time, I have heard old timers say that it was the best and worst day in the island’s history. More than anything, it marked the end of one way of life, the dawn of another.

Then, of course, the war came. Young men and women went away to fight in distant lands and on distant seas. On the island, families crowded around radios to follow the news from places that few of us had known existed until that moment. Soldiers and sailors were everywhere.

An Army camp was built on the island. Soldiers and sailors seemed to be constantly coming and going.

During the war, untold numbers of islanders also crossed the new bridge and went out into the larger world to take jobs at shipyards, military bases, and defense factories. Some commuted every morning to defense jobs as close as the Naval Section Base in Morehead City; others moved as far away as the big shipyards in Wilmington and Newport News.

The Great Depression had worn people down, but suddenly there seemed to be work for any and all.

A hundred things about the war changed the island, but few things more than the War Department building the Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station only 25 miles away in 1942.

Nearly 10,000 men came together at at a remote crossroads on the south side of the Neuse River to build Cherry Point – carpenters, brick masons, ditch diggers, logging crews, railroad builders, and many, many others. Among other things, they laid enough concrete to build what is believed to have been the largest aircraft runway in the world at that time.

Most of those workers were fresh off the farm or right off a fishing boat.

When Cherry Point was finished, people came from all over the country to work there, and most particularly to find jobs at the base’s assembly and repair department, a massive aircraft repair and refitting operation that relied on civilian workers and was usually just called “A&R.”

Those workers included many a Harkers Island fisherman. And when they left their boats and crossed the new bridge, they began a new life in more ways than they possibly could have imagined at the time.

Some of those islanders, my older friends on Harkers Island used to tell me, were saved by that trip to Cherry Point. Others lost.

For the island’s women, the coming of Cherry Point meant, if anything, even more. Because so many men had gone to war, the base employed thousands of women in jobs that would have traditionally fallen to men.

Those jobs ranged from aircraft painters to mechanics, PX and commissary managers to electronics specialists.

My grandmother was one of those women. She lived on a farm in Harlowe, about halfway between Harkers Island and Cherry Point, and she found a job in A&R’s machine shop during the war.

With the opening of Cherry Point, a daughter fresh out of school, perhaps still living with her parents, might suddenly be earning more than her fisherman father and all her brothers put together.

Of course, that changed things. Maybe not right away, but over time.

Likewise, with the coming of the bridge and the war, a lad that had never taken to the water — and there were plenty of young men like that even on Harkers Island — suddenly had a chance for a different kind of life.

I guess what I am saying is that photographs tell some stories, but not others.

Our tranquil scene of fishing nets drying in the sunshine also does not really speak to what had been happening out at sea during the war.

By 1944, things had calmed down out in the Atlantic, but only a couple years earlier, in the first months after Pearl Harbor, the war had seemed much closer to Harkers Island that it did to most of the United States.

Many of the island’s young fishermen had gone into the Navy and Coast Guard, and they were serving all over the world. But the U.S. Navy had also recruited the island’s fishermen for war duty closer to home.

As German submarines torpedoed merchant ships out in the Atlantic, one of the islanders patrolled the beaches out at Shackleford Banks, watching in the surf for the corpses.

Others, when they heard the explosions offshore, had the duty of taking their boats far out into the Atlantic to search for survivors and the dead.

Out in those seas, 15 and 20 miles off Cape Lookout, they often found themselves in a hellish seascape of charred hulls, burning oil slicks and scenes of which few of them would ever speak.

Special thanks as always to my friends at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center on Harkers Island.

The management and operation of Beaufort Town Docks will officially transition to what the town calls an “experienced marina management company” at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

The company, F3 Marina, specializes in the operation of public and private waterfront facilities along the East Coast, officials said Wednesday in a press release.

“On behalf of the Board of Commissioners and the citizens of Beaufort, I’m excited to welcome F3 Marina Management as the selected company to manage the Beaufort Town Docks beginning January 1,” Mayor Sharon Harker said in a release. “With their experience and proven track record, we’re looking forward to this new chapter and to working together to ensure the docks continue to operate safely, smoothly, and as a welcoming place for boaters and residents alike.”

As part of the transition, the new website, www.beauforttowndocks.org, has launched, to serve as the primary source for details on dockage, rates, policies, amenities, events, and contact information.

“The transition marks a new chapter for the Beaufort Town Docks, with an emphasis on enhancing services for residents, visiting boaters, and the maritime community while preserving the character and heritage of Beaufort’s historic waterfront,” the town said.

The Sarah Owens Welcome Center/Rest Area on U.S. 64 on Roanoke Island will be temporarily closed for a renovation project beginning Dec. 31.

Renovations will include an upgrade and installation of electrical, HVAC and plumbing systems, and general construction and landscaping in and around the building, according to a N.C. Department of Transportation release.

A.R. Chesson Company of Elizabeth City was awarded a $1.4 million contract for the project, which is expected to be complete by mid-May.

Alternate state-owned welcome centers and rest stops in the region include the Aycock Brown Welcome Center on U.S. 158 in Kitty Hawk, and the Tyrrell County Welcome Center on U.S. 64 in Columbia.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Rail Division is accepting comments through Jan. 20 on the proposed comprehensive state rail plan, which officials say “establishes the vision for rail transportation across the state for the next 30 years.”

The proposed plan was created to help identify needs and guide public investments in the state’s freight and passenger rail network. To submit comments, visit NCDOT’s public input website.

“Updating this report helps us strategically plan for the future of North Carolina’s passenger and freight rail systems,” NCDOT Rail Division Director Jason Orthner said in a release. “Public feedback is essential to ensure we’re supporting a rail network that serves and benefits all North Carolinians.”

Officials note that a key initiative is to continue developing and improving the Southeast Corridor, a freight and passenger rail network connecting the District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. Identified as a priority for high-performance passenger rail, plans are to connect the Southeast Corridor with the existing high-speed rail corridor from Washington D.C. to Boston, known as the Northeast Corridor, documents state.

Other proposed initiatives include continued grade separation and crossing improvement projects to increase safety, increased access to ports and inland freight facilities, and improving passenger and freight facilities statewide to support increased railroad activity in the state.

Coastal Review will not publish Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in observance of the Christmas holiday.

North Carolina Department of Transportation officials anticipate a section of N.C. 24 near the U.S. 17 Bypass in Jacksonville to be closed for utility repairs longer than initially planned.

Officials announced Monday that travelers would need to detour around the stretch of Lejeune Boulevard while the city repairs a sewer line, with the expected reopening date to be Dec. 22.

On Friday, NCDOT sent out an update announcing that the closure was going to be extended “due to unforeseen utility conflicts during emergency utility repairs.” The road is expected to reopen by 5 p.m. Jan. 9, weather permitting. 

N.C. 24 West to U.S. 17 Bypass South is still open for travel.

The expected impact to traffic is high, according to DriveNC.gov, where real-time travel information and updates are posted.

Travelers can use one of two detours:

• N.C. 24 West to Bell Fork Road to West Huff Drive, to U.S. 17 Bypass South, exit N.C. 24 Business (Lejeune Boulevard) 
• N.C. 24 West to Bell Fork Road to Hargett Street to N.C. 24 Business (Lejeune Boulevard)

BUXTON – Faced with devastating destruction across a significant segment of its beachfront, this small Outer Banks village is seeking help for coastal solutions, including measures that could require potentially controversial legislative action by the state and federal governments.

Since September, 15 houses have collapsed on a stretch of beach in Buxton just north of Cape Hatteras, the distinctive point of land midway along the East Coast that juts far into the Atlantic. Adaptation to storms and natural forces have fortified the community since its establishment in the late 1800s, but now stunningly rapid erosion is endangering its future.

“Today, small areas of our oceanfront have deteriorated to the point where we can no longer shoulder these challenges alone,” Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard wrote to members of the North Carolina General Assembly in November. “With your support, we can preserve our coastline, protect public infrastructure, and sustain the economic engine that benefits all of North Carolina.”

The county is one of the few “donor counties” in North Carolina, with more than 3 million people annually visiting Dare’s beaches and national parks and generating significant state tax revenue, he said. So far, he added, the county has spent about $275 million for beach nourishment as well as additional millions to maintain inlets, with little state or federal assistance.

In addition to a beach nourishment project in 2026 for Buxton, the county is planning to repair a purportedly half-intact groin, one of three installed in 1969 to protect the former Navy base constructed in 1956 near the original location of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

Dare and Hyde counties also have asked the state Division of Coastal Management to lift the 1985 state ban against hardened structures so the remnants of the two deteriorated groins at the site can be replaced.

But beach stabilization of any sort on the Outer Banks, with its extraordinarily high-energy coastal conditions, is becoming more challenging in a changing climate with quickly evolving and often unpredictable consequences: Sea levels are increasing faster than projected, storms are intensifying, rainfall is heavier.

In recent years, Hatteras and Ocracoke islands on the barrier islands’ southern end have been suffering dramatically increased shoaling in its inlets and far worse erosion at numerous hot spots along N.C. 12, the island’s only highway. Over wash, loss of dunes and road damage is becoming more frequent and difficult to mitigate, sometimes resulting in loss of vehicular access for hours or days. 

People say things feel different. Residents — from old timers to long-time transplants — have noticed places flooding where they never did before, shoaling in waterways that had never clogged before, and erosion consuming an entire shoreline that had been wide and stable just a few years before. And this fall and winter, even seasonal nor’easters have switched to overdrive, with the storms coming in one after another and more often than some ole salts say they’ve ever seen. 

“When we really developed these islands in the ’70s and ’80s, it was a different system, and we need to recognize that, acknowledge it, and plan accordingly,” Reide Corbett, executive director of the Coastal Studies Institute and Dean of the Integrated Coastal Program at East Carolina University, said in a recent interview. “We can’t let self-interest lead the way. We need to understand what this looks like, and we need to get behind better policy. And it starts with how we develop.”

Responding to increasing numbers of house collapses in Buxton and Rodanthe, the Hatteras Island’s northernmost village, state leaders are urging Congress to pass legislation introduced by Rep. Greg Murphy, a Republican from North Carolina’s 3rd District, that would authorize proactive Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance payments to remove threatened oceanfront houses before they fall.

While the proposal has garnered bipartisan support, FEMA is currently understaffed and targeted for downsizing, reorganization or even elimination, and its flood insurance program is woefully underfunded.

A delegation representing local, state and federal officials toured the damaged area in Buxton on Nov. 24, where dozens of additional oceanfront houses are scattered willy-nilly, awaiting near-certain demise. Numerous members of the group expressed shock at the disarray and destruction at the scene.

Meanwhile, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson has directed the Coastal Resources Commission’s Science Panel to analyze shoreline stabilization options, including the potential effectiveness or negative impacts of groins.

Erosion on Buxton’s oceanfront has been a persistent problem for many decades, at least to the infrastructure on the beach, such as the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

“It was quite obvious to everybody that in the course of time the lighthouse would topple into the Atlantic Ocean and the thousand acres of park land, upon which no tree and scarcely any blade of grass grew, would be swallowed up by the warring ocean currents that swirl around the point of Cape Hatteras,” author Ben Dixon MacNeill wrote in an article published on July 30, 1948, in the Coastland Times. At that point, he noted, in just the lifetime of a middle-aged man, erosion had already whittled away 1,500 feet of beach. 

Despite the 1937 congressional directive to the National Park Service to preserve what would later become Cape Hatteras National Seashore as a “primitive wilderness,” until the early 1970s, according to park documents, the agency spent more than $20 million to stop the “natural process” of barrier island movement. Projects included installing in 1930 steel sheet pile groins along the beach by Cape Hatteras Lighthouse; installing in 1933 additional sheet pile groins at the lighthouse; nourishment of the beach in 1966 near the Buxton motel area with sand dredged from Pamlico Sound; and in 1967 placement of revetment of large nylon sandbags in front of the lighthouse.

In addition, the U.S. Navy built three reinforced concrete groins in 1969 to protect its facility near the lighthouse; the beach near the Buxton motels was nourished again in 1971 with material dredged from Cape Point; and the beach near the Navy operation was nourished in 1973 with Cape Point sand. 

Those actions were in addition to construction and repeated reconstruction of sand dunes, as well as beach fences and planting grasses, shrubs and trees to hold the dunes. 

Finally, in 1973, the National Park Service acknowledged the futility and unsustainable costs of stabilization, and abandoned its efforts. The agency, however, did continue various attempts to protect the lighthouse with riprap, offshore artificial grass, sandbags and a scour-mat apron. With the sea by then lapping at its base, the lighthouse in 1999 was relocated a half-mile inland.

In a letter dated Jan. 9, 1974, from the U.S. Department of Interior to a Buxton resident, the agency promised that all available data would be analyzed before determining future beach stabilization management decisions in the Seashore, including relative to the groins.

“The most reliable scientific data we have obtained thus far offer no evidence that the existing jetties or groins at Buxton provide acceptable protection from ocean forces,” the department added. “While some stabilizing effect may be gained in the immediate area, the jetties actually cause more erosion in adjacent locations.”

A report the year earlier published by University of Virginia coastal scientist Robert Dolan, et. al, to analyze the effects of beach nourishment in Buxton, in fact, said that the groins — short jetties extending from a shoreline — rapidly increased erosion by the motel area, causing dune destruction and ocean over wash into private property.

“The groins, somewhat unexpectedly, are trapping sediment at the expense of the beaches to either side and as a result of their success, the reach protected by the groins has become stable,” the report said, adding that the localized erosion problem at Buxton had followed construction of the groins.

Barely more than four years after they were built, the groins were damaged by storms and required repairs with new sheet piling. Patches and reinforcements continued until the Navy in 1982 abandoned the base, apparently leaving the groins to the elements.

By the time heated discussions kicked in about whether the lighthouse should be saved in place or moved, the community tried to persuade the federal government to not only maintain the by-then-deteriorating existing groins, but also to add a fourth groin. The petition was soundly rejected, and the Navy, the Park Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers appeared to want nothing to do with the groins.

Today, the county sees the sand trapping barriers — even a single groin — as a way to prolong the effectiveness of a $50 million beach nourishment project, and importantly, as a way to buy time while consultants determine a long-term strategy for Buxton.

Dare County Manager Bobby Outten reported in March that, according to Coastal Science & Engineering, the firm hired to do the beach nourishment and groin work, the southern-most groin would meet the state’s 50% rule that allows repair of an existing structure that has 50% or less in damages. The county is currently awaiting approval from the state, as well as acknowledgement that the application meets the exemption criteria for an exemption from the hardened structures statute, he said.

If the groin work is approved, contractors estimate the $2 to $4 million project would take up to two months to complete this summer and involve about 640 feet of repairs, using steel sheet pile and riprap scour protection within the original footprint.

As Outten summed up the current dilemma facing Dare and other North Carolina coastal communities: There are two extremes, either hold the coast in place as it is, and build sea walls. Or let nature take its course, let the houses fall and see the economy crumble.

“And neither one of those extremes is acceptable,” he told Coastal Review. “To anybody.”

Hatteras-Ocracoke, Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach and Southport-Fort Fisher ferry routes will be on an adjusted schedule for the Christmas holiday.

All other state-run ferries will be on their regular schedules over the Christmas holidays, North Carolina Department of Transportation officials said Wednesday when the revised schedule was announced.

The routes will adhere to the following schedule:

Hatteras-Ocracoke Dec. 24-25

• From Hatteras: 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m., midnight.
• From Ocracoke: 4:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m.

Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach Dec. 25

• From Cherry Branch: 5 a.m., 5:45 a.m., 6:45 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
• From Minnesott Beach: 5:25 a.m., 6:15 a.m., 7:15 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Southport-Fort Fisher Dec. 25

• From Southport: 5:30 a.m., 7 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
• From Fort Fisher: 6:15 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 3:15 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.

Editor’s note: The following is from historian David Cecelski’s “Working Lives: Photographs from Eastern North Carolina, 1937 to 1947.” The Carteret County native introduced the nearly 20-part photo-essay series earlier this year on his website, explaining at the time that the images he selected from the N.C. Department of Conservation and Development Collection were taken in the late 1930s into the early 1950s of the state’s farms, industries, and working people.

In this photo-essay in my “Working Lives” series, I am looking at several photographs that feature workers on a railroad that old timers, when I was a boy, still called the “Old Mullet Road.”

The real name of the railroad was the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad (A&NC). First in business in 1858, it ran from the coastal port of Morehead City, west to New Bern, Kinston, and finally Goldsboro.

Owned by the state of North Carolina, the railroad was usually leased to private operators and it played a vital role in opening the economy and communities of the North Carolina coast to the outside world.

In Goldsboro, at the railroad’s western end, other lines connected the A&NC’s passengers and freight to Raleigh and to distant markets and cities such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York.

Local people referred to the A&NC as the “Old Mullet Road” because of the seemingly endless barrels of salt mullet that its freight cars carried out of Morehead City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

With the opening of the railroad in 1858, the local fishery for striped mullet — what we’ve always called “jumping mullet” — grew into the largest saltwater fishery anywhere in the American South.

Long a staple in local pantries, barrels of salt mullet were soon as common in the country stores of eastern North Carolina as pickled pigs feet and rounds of farmers cheese.

-2-

The construction of the A&NC and the building of the coastal town of Morehead City went hand in hand.

The town’s resort trade, its famous charter fishing business, the state port, the local menhaden industry (one of the largest fisheries in the U.S.), and really the region’s entire wholesale seafood industry — none would have been imaginable without the “Old Mullet Road.”

The same could be said for the truck farming business throughout that whole central part of North Carolina’s coastal plain.

Over the years, the A&NC’s trains became part of daily life in the towns and crossroads through which it passed.

For people who lived along the tracks, the coming and going of the train, its whistle, and the sense of curiosity and wonder about what lost soul might be coming home, or what trouble might be arriving, became measures of time passing as much as the tides and the changing of the seasons.

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Taken in Morehead City or New Bern in 1942, this photograph introduces us to one of the railroad’s employees who was something of a legend in that part of eastern North Carolina.

His name was J. B. Davis, people called him “Captain Davis,” and he was a conductor on the railroad for close to half a century.

On Nov. 30, 1924, the Raleigh News & Observer referred to Capt. Davis and the railroad’s three other conductors as “the most popular quartet in this part of the State….”

The paper went on to say, “They know more people than all the politicians in Wayne, Lenoir, Craven, and Carteret counties.”

A railroad conductor saw the best and worst of humanity. Capt. Davis came to know the high and mighty and the utterly defeated, those that were good, and those that were set on evil, people anxious to get back home, and those desperate to get away from home.

Along the railroad’s path, people often sought him out to get the latest news from other towns. Many a day, he was the first to bring word of births and marriages, shipwrecks, hurricanes and floods.

His own life on the railroad was far from uneventful: Capt. Davis was injured in a derailment in 1933, and he and the train’s brakeman were usually the first to reach the poor souls who were killed on the railroad tracks.

In 1939, when a new company, the Atlantic & East Carolina Railroad Co., took over the railroad’s lease, Capt. Davis was fired for allegedly not collecting fares from some of his passengers.

His discharge made headlines across eastern North Carolina, and he was eventually rehired, but there has to be story there.

Maybe he was just looking out for his friends. On the other hand, times were hard in the 1930s and I like to think that maybe now and then he looked the other way and let a penniless soul or two ride for free.

-4-

I assume that this gentleman was one of the train’s firemen, whose job it was to maintain the fire in the engine’s boiler by shoveling coal and watching the boiler’s water levels as well.

A 1947 newspaper article concerning a derailment mentions an A&NC fireman named Henry Peterson. This may be him, but I cannot be sure.

Judging from the way he holds himself, I might have thought that he was the train’s engineer, but that was not possible in eastern North Carolina in the first half of the 20th century because he was African American.

At the turn of the 20th century, the A&NC’s president was a New Bern banker and real estate mogul named James A. Bryan.

Bryan was one of the leaders of the white supremacy movement that swept North Carolina in the period from 1898 to 1900. To attract New Bern’s white working class men to the white supremacy cause, he promised to discharge all of the railroad’s black employees and give their jobs to white workers.

After the Wilmington Massacre and the victory of the white supremacists in November 1898, Bryan lived up to his promise.

According to documents preserved in the Bryan Family Papers at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Southern Historical Collection, he discharged dozens of A&NC conductors, porters, brakemen, mechanics, blacksmiths, and other skilled railroad men in 1899 and 1900.

He also fired many of the company’s lowest level black employees, including the night watchman at the company’s rail yard.

In exchange for white workingmen’s support for a state constitutional amendment that took all voting rights from the state’s black citizens, Bryan also pledged to embed white supremacy in the railroad’s labor policies into the future.

In practice, that meant: the A&NC’s managers would hire and promote whites preferentially, regardless of qualifications or experience; would never pay a black worker as much as a white worker; would never employ a black individual in a management role; and would never hire or promote a black man or woman into a job–such as locomotive engineer– that gave them supervisory responsibilities over any white employee.

The railroad’s policies with respect to race were still in place in 1942.

You can learn more about James A. Bryan’s leadership in New Bern’s white supremacy campaign, and see some of the manuscripts related to his firing of the A&NC’s black workers, in my essay, “The Other Coup D’Etat: Remembering New Bern in 1898.”

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Only a few years before these photographs were taken, the railroad had seemed on its last legs.

The private railroad company that had leased the track from the State of North Carolina since 1904, the Norfolk & Southern, had defaulted in 1934, a victim of the Great Depression.

After the Norfolk & Southern’s default, state coffers could not keep up with the railroad’s maintenance and repair needs. Years of neglect began taking their toll: broken railroad ties abounded, embankments needed reinforcement, and much about the old railroad seemed frayed and worn out. Reports of derailments grew more common.

Things began to look up in 1939 however, when the state finally found a new private company to take over the railroad’s lease.

The new company, the Atlantic & Eastern North Carolina, invested in new engines and track repairs, updated at least some depots, and even repainted the cars a perky “Spanish blue” instead of the old dull black.

-6-

Then the war came. Everybody was on the move. Soldiers, sailors, defense workers, and civilians of all kinds.

A new prosperity was in the air, heightening the demand for carrying passengers and hauling the region’s agricultural products and other freight.

Probably most importantly, the federal government began constructing two massive new military installations on the central part of the North Carolina coast in 1941 and ’42. To build the two bases, the railroad’s freight cars would carry enough lumber, brick, piping, and other construction materials to build two good-sized cities from scratch.

The railroad ran a short spur from Havelock Station into the construction site for the Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station (originally called Cunningham Field). To the south, the railroad carried construction materials to Camp Lejeune via a track that ran from New Bern to Jacksonville, then along a short spur owned and operated by the Navy.

By the time these photographs were taken, the railroad was making a profit again for the first time in recent memory.

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The war changed the railroad and the North Carolina coast in a thousand ways, some easy to get used to, and some that probably haunted the workers that we have met here — Capt. Davis, the fireman, the mail clerk, the brakeman, and the porter in the photograph above — for their rest of their lives.

More than 25 years ago, I interviewed an elderly woman named Gretchen Brinson in Morehead City.

During the early part of World War II, Ms. Brinson had been a nurse in the burn unit of the town’s little hospital when German U-boats were sinking merchant vessels off that part of the North Carolina coast.

This is an excerpt from that interview:

“I married Bull Brinson in 1937. While my daughter was still an infant, I started working at the hospital. Very shortly, we began hearing depth charges and if they had a strike we could see the fires, the ships burning.

“The debris washed up on the ocean front, and there were several years we couldn’t swim up there because of the debris and the oil slicks.

“We could see the ships burning.

“When there was a strike out there at night, we knew this had happened and that next morning there would be casualties come in. Bodies, corpses did wash in on the beach. And they were brought into the hospital: burns, all manner of traumatic situations. The hospital was full. It was only a 30-bed hospital. They lay in the hall on cots. We were not prepared for the onslaught.”

She continued:

“Many of the young men who came here, son, did not live. When the 3 o’clock train left town, the baggage car doors were most always open, and you could see several coffins in their wooden boxes, being shipped to other places. There was seldom a day for months, maybe a year or more, when there were not one or two or three or possibly more that went out on that 3 o’clock train.”

-End-

My story “Gretchen Brinson: A Born Nurse” originally appeared in my “Listening to History” series in the Raleigh News & Observer on June 14, 1998. You can find a copy of the story here. 

The national memorial on the Outer Banks that honors the accomplishments of Wilbur and Orville Wright is celebrating Dec. 17 the 122nd anniversary of the brothers’ first heavier-than-air, controlled, powered flight.

Starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, the National Park Service will be joined for the celebration by Dare County Schools, and the nonprofit organizations, the First Flight Society and Outer Banks Forever. The First Flight Society promotes awareness of the history and future of flight. Outer Banks Forever is the official nonprofit partner of the Wright Brothers site, as well as the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.

Park entrance fees are waived for the day.

As part of this year’s program, the First Flight Society will induct at 9 a.m. William P. Lear (1902-1978) into its Paul E. Garber Shrine, a portrait gallery located inside the memorial’s visitor center that honors those who have achieved significant firsts in aviation. Lear was an American inventor and businessman, best known for founding Lear Jet Industries. His portrait will be installed inside the gallery at 11 a.m.

The First Flight Society established the shrine in 1966 and named it after the curator and historian at the Smithsonian Institution who played a key role in the 1946 National Air Museum.

An introduction Wright Flight Academy is at 9:10 a.m. The two-year program began in 2023 as part of Dare County School’s Aviation Program, which offers juniors and seniors an opportunity to learn about aviation, science, and engineering while building a workable airplane on the memorial’s grounds.

At 10 a.m. as part of the celebration, students plan to unveil their completed airplane built during the academy. The build is the second airplane ever constructed on the historic site, “following in the footsteps of the Wright brothers’ and carrying their legacy into a modern classroom,” organizers said.

“The project underscores how Career and Technical Education, strengthened by community partnerships, can inspire the next generation of aviators and engineers. In a true full-circle moment, students are carrying forward the same spirit of innovation that launched the world’s first flight on the very ground where aviation history began,” organizers continued.

Throughout the day there will be demonstrations with the replica 1903 Wright Flyer, and the Wright Brothers Monument will be open for visitors to view the lower atrium, weather dependent. Ranger-led educational programs outside of the visitor center are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

The First Flight Society‘s annual luncheon that commemorates the flight anniversary will be from 12:30 to 3 p.m. that afternoon at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head. The organization invited to speak from the Lear world, Bill Lear’s daughter, Shanda Lear-Baylor, and Jeff Coggins, chief pilot and assistant director of operations for the Phoenix Air Group. Lunch will be served and there will be a silent auction. Tickets are $60 each before Dec. 10 or $75 after, and available on the website.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is hosting an open house and public hearing on Monday for the Independence Boulevard extension project in central Wilmington.

The proposed 1.7-mile project would extend Independence Boulevard from the intersection with Randall Parkway and Mercer Avenue to U.S. 74, also known as the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, according to a release.

Transportation officials will be available during the open house from 5-6:30 p.m. to answer questions and receive comments regarding the proposed project in the cafeteria of the Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington, 4100 Sunglow Dr.

A presentation will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. and will be livestreamed.

Written comments may also be provided at the meeting, submitted by telephone by calling 601-300-5186, enter project code 4173, by email to IndependenceBlvd@PublicInput.com, or at NCDOT’s public input portal by Jan. 16, 2026.

Auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act will be provided at the request of those who require special services by contacting Aleksandra Djurkovic at 919-707-6024 or andjurkovic@ncdot.gov as early as possible. 

Interpretive services for anyone who does not speak English, or has a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, will be also be available upon request before the meeting by calling 1-800-481-6494.

The North Carolina Sedimentation Control Commission, during its meeting Thursday, is to consider continuing to give N.C. Department of Transpiration authority to review and approve erosion and sedimentation control plans for land-disturbing activities.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Thursday in the Archdale Building in Raleigh. An agenda and supporting documents can be found on the commission webpage.

The public may attend in person or join online using the WebEx meeting link. The meeting number is 2429 642 9815 and the password is STOPMUD. Organizers ask those logging on to mute their audio and turn off the video when joining. To listen by phone, call 415-655-0003 and enter the meeting number 2429 642 9815.

The commission was created to administer the state’s Sedimentation Control Program in accordance with the  N.C. Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973. The program is “to allow development within our state while preventing pollution by sedimentation,” the webpage explains.

In 1974, the commission and NCDOT came to an agreement that the transportation agency would be allowed to design, review, monitor and train for all aspects of the Erosion and Sedimentation Control Program. The agreement was reviewed and updated in 1991.

NCDOT submitted its annual summary that reviewed projects from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. The state sedimentation engineer based his report on that summary, and the recommendation that NCDOT continues to manage its erosion and sedimentation control program.

Commission members are scheduled to take action on updates and clarifications counsel provided to the memorandum of agreement between local governments and the commission.

Information items include an update on materials from the Environmental Protection Agency regarding the municipal separate storm sewer system, or MS4, permit changes and the potential impacts to the sediment program.

Staff are to also give an update on the sediment education program, on the land quality section’s current statewide plan approval, inspection and enforcement activities, and current number of vacancies in the land quality section.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has awarded an $11 million contract to replace a Beaufort County bridge.

The 35-year-old bridge over Blounts Creek, which feeds into the Pamlico River, on Mouth of the Creek Road will be replaced on new location, just south of the existing bridge, NCDOT announced Wednesday.

The two-lane bridge provides access to the neighborhoods east and west of Blounts Creek, which officials said rely on this bridge to access N.C. Highway 33. 

NCDOT said it awarded the contract to Sanford Contractors Inc., a 56-year-old Sanford firm that can begin construction as early as Dec. 1.

Drivers will continue to use the current bridge while the new one is under construction. The project is scheduled to be completed by fall 2028.

Arrr! you worried you won’t make it to the Ocracoke Pirate Jamboree because of the ongoing closure of a section of N.C. 12 on Ocracoke Island?

Well matey, we’ve got some good news for you.

You can still walk the plank onto the passenger-only ferry that runs from Hatteras to Ocracoke or walk on the sound class vehicle ferries from Cedar Island or Swan Quarter to get to the jamboree, one sure to immerse visitors in Ocracoke Island’s pirate lore and the legend of Blackbeard.

“We encourage our visitors to hop on the passenger ferry or walk-on from the mainland,” Ocracoke Access Alliance Executive Director Justin LeBlanc said in a release.  “Our village is quite walkable, there are bikes and golf carts available for rent, and we hope to have our public tram running for the weekend.”

All ferry terminals offer free parking on a first-come, first-served basis.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation continues to work to clear N.C. 12 on Ocracoke with the hope of re-opening one lane of the road by 5 p.m. Friday, though “much depends on any additional overwash of the road during the next high tide,” scheduled for later today, according to a release.

Vehicle ferry operations, which have been suspended because of the closure of N.C. 12 at the north end of Ocracoke Island, will resume once the road reopens.

“We appreciate the efforts of the NC Ferry Division to provide access to the island during this difficult time,” LeBlanc said.  “Folks who choose the passenger ferry will be returned to their vehicles in Hatteras at the end of their visit to our wonderful island.”

Passengers of the Ocracoke Express, which bypasses N.C. 12, are delivered directly into the village where the festival kicked off Friday. A round-trip ticket is $15 and reservations may be made in person or by calling 1-800-BY-FERRY.

NCDOT’s Ferry Division personnel will decide whether to extend weekend service later Friday afternoon, according to a release.

An evening round trip on the Ocracoke-Swan Quarter vehicle ferry has been added Friday, departing at 7 p.m. with a return trip from Swan Quarter at 10:30 p.m., according to a DOT release.

For a full schedule, visit the N.C. Ferry Division’s webpage.

North Carolina Department of Transportation officials are hosting an open house and public hearing Tuesday on the proposed Jacksonville Parkway extension.

Transportation officials will be available to answer questions and receive comments on the proposed project, which would include a roughly 4-mile-long roadway that would extend Jacksonville Parkway from N.C. Highway 53 (Western Boulevard) to U.S. 17 (New Bern Highway).

The project would “improve overall mobility in the area, alleviate traffic congestion and provide alternative routes for drivers,” according to NCDOT.

An open house is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in Jacksonville Commons Elementary School, 1121 Commons Drive North. The public hearing will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with a presentation, which will be livestreamed.

Transportation officials will be on hand to answer questions and receive both verbal and written comments on the proposed alternatives. Alternative 3 in the map above is deemed the preferred alternative.

Comments on the proposed project will be accepted through Nov. 28 by phone by dialing 984-205-6615 and entering code 10888 or at jacksonville-parkway-extension@publicinput.com.

Those who require auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act who wish to participate in the workshop should contact Emily Richards at 919-707-6014 as early as possible.

Interpretive services are available upon request prior to the meeting by calling 1-800-481-6494.

Post has been updated.

The nor’easter that swept up the East Coast this past weekend stripped ocean beaches of sand, inundated areas with floodwaters and pushed seawater over dunes and roads along North Carolina’s coast.

The Outer Banks suffered much of the brunt of the powerful system that brought wind, rain and coastal flooding.

On Saturday the North Carolina Department of Transportation closed sections of N.C. 12 on Ocracoke. Overwash forced officials to close portions of the road Sunday on Hatteras Island, where crews spent the weekend pushing sand and water from the road and rebuilding the dune line that divides the beach from the road.

As of late afternoon Tuesday, N.C. 12 on Ocracoke was the only road closed and the Hatteras-Ocracoke Ferry service remained suspended, NCDOT’s Assistant Director of Communications Jamie Kritzer said in an interview.

N.C. 12 is closed on the north end of Ocracoke Island between the ferry terminal and the National Park Service Pony Pens.

“This afternoon, we’ve been forced to close N.C. 12 again on Pea Island from Marc Basnight Bridge to Rodanthe, due to ocean overwash,” Kritzer said. “The stretch on Pea Island was reopened at 5 p.m. (Monday) but the wind increased this afternoon and we saw overwash around high tide.”

Kritzer said that NCDOT crews were continuing to push sand and water from N.C. 12 and restore the protective dunes on both islands.

“Our ability to reopen N.C. 12 will depend on whether the dune holds through the next high tide cycle,” he said.

In addition to NCDOT’s highway crews, the state’s Ferry Division played a critical role during the response to this weekend’s nor’easter, Kritzer said.

“At one point, all seven ferry routes were suspended this weekend. However, when the winds subsided, the ferries were able to make a special run to take Ocracoke visitors back to Swan Quarter,” he said. “The Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry have helped transport highway crews and equipment between Hatteras and Ocracoke, so the crews could work on clearing N.C. 12.”

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent Dave Hallac told Coastal Review early Tuesday afternoon that there has been a lot of coastal erosion in certain areas of the national seashore.

At the time of the interview, the National Weather Service forecast much of the Outer Banks to experience flooding through Wednesday. Hallac said that he expects oceanfront flooding as a result, which could make driving on the highway through the seashore hazardous.

“The beaches continue to remain hazardous, especially the beachfront in the Buxton area and the beachfront in the Rodanthe area due to the waves and high-water levels battering many threatened oceanfront structures,” he said.

Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, eight unoccupied beachfront houses fell in Buxton, five of which collapsed within 45 minutes of each other. Another unoccupied house gave way on Oct. 3 in Buxton, bringing the total number of houses that have succumbed to encroaching ocean waters to 21 within the past five years.

As of Oct. 3, nine homes on Hatteras Island have toppled into the sea, “but there are a number of significantly threatened oceanfront structures, and you know, collapse is definitely possible,” Hallac said. “Even if collapse doesn’t occur, pieces and parts of those homes have broken off over the last couple of days, including large structures like decks. So that’s the reason that the entire beach front in the village of Buxton remains closed.”

He recommended travelers avoid taking N.C. 12 during the high-tide window, adding that there’s a likelihood of some minor soundside flooding as the winds are switching more to the north and northwest.

“That could also make some of our access points on the sound side flooded, and also make highway driving hazardous,” he said.

Conditions were less dire further south along the state’s coast.

Carteret County’s Public Information Officer Nick Wilson said that the county didn’t see any significant damage from last weekend’s coastal low.

“Most of the impacts were primarily in the Down East,” he said, where some roads in Cedar Island and a few other areas experienced overwash.

“A couple of our convenience sites were closed on Sunday for safety but were back to normal on Monday,” he continued. “There haven’t been any reports of building damage or injuries. The high tides over the weekend, combined with king tide conditions, did cause some flooding in low-lying spots, but it quickly receded once the low passed.”

Carteret County Shore Protection Manager Ryan Davenport said Wednesday morning that Most of Bogue Banks fared well during the recent storm.

“We did see moderate erosion and some dune escarpments in western Pine Knoll Shores, Indian Beach, and Salter Path, but the impacts were no worse than what we typically expect from a winter storm. We remain on track for the island-wide nourishment project scheduled to begin in fall 2026,” he said.

Town officials from North Topsail Beach in Onslow County to Holden Beach in Brunswick County reported experiencing some erosion and escarpment.

North Topsail Beach officials assessed the town’s little more than 11-mile stretch of ocean shoreline throughout Monday and found most erosion to have occurred along the northern end of town toward New River Inlet.

“We noticed our typical hotspots had erosion,” North Topsail’s Town Manager Alice Derian said Tuesday. “There’s some escarpment there. There was some scarping south, but the dunes are still intact.”

All of the town’s public accesses remain open.

Topsail Beach’s ocean shoreline “held up well except at the very south end,” Topsail Island Shoreline Protection Commission Chair William Snyder said.

He said that there is some escarpment to the natural dunes that front a portion of the undeveloped southern tip of the island.

New Hanover County Coastal Protection Coordinator Bryan Hall said in an email Tuesday afternoon that Wrightsville, Carolina and Kure beaches all experienced some erosion over the weekend. Wrightsville Beach’s ocean shoreline also suffered some escarpments.

“As far as I’m aware, there was no significant public or private infrastructure damage or significant established dune damage, which is a testament to the well-established dunes and the County’s Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) projects,” Hall said.

Officials in Brunswick County beach towns that responded to Coastal Review’s requests for comments also reported minor erosion, including Bald Head Island and Oak Island.

“Honestly, I think we fared pretty well,” Ocean Isle Beach Town Manager Justin Whiteside said Tuesday afternoon.

One end of a privately maintained road that runs through a gated neighborhood at the eastern tip of the island has been partially eaten away.

Whiteside said roughly half of the cul-de-sac within The Pointe, a relatively new development of luxury homes, is gone.

“They’re sandbagging around the perimeter of where the cul-de-sac was,” he said.

“There have not been any reports to us of damage besides some flooding caused by tides and winds,” Holden Beach Town Manager Bryan Chadwick said in an email Tuesday afternoon. “We do feel fortunate because it could have been a lot worse.”

Storm recap

Warning Coordination Meteorologist Erik Heden with the National Weather Service office in the Newport/Morehead City office said that with this last storm, “we wanted to make sure people knew that despite it not having a name,” nor’easters can produce the same winds, flooding and rain as hurricanes.

There have been multiple offshore storms that have beaten and battered areas of the state’s coastline, particularly the Outer Banks, where N.C. 12 on Ocracoke and Hatteras islands has been closed for most of the last few days and Down East Carteret County has experienced high-water levels.

There was also a king tide, which means at certain times of the year the tides come in higher and go out lower than normal, that began early last week, leading to some flooding, which was not storm related, in Beaufort, Buxton and other spots on the Outer Banks, Heden said.

The combination of higher water levels with a king tide, a storm with gale-force winds, large waves and swells, and 3 to 4 inches of rain made everything worse, especially in low lying areas, he said.

Flooding occurred up the Neuse and the Pamlico rivers, pushing water levels in New Bern to their highest since Hurricane Ophelia in 2023.

Down East Carteret County had a “tremendous amount of water on the roads,” but nothing they haven’t experienced before, Heden said. The Outer Banks experienced significant ocean overwash, especially at the March Basnight Bridge southward to the Pea Island Visitor Center, where the man-made dunes are built.

Heden said that while the coast will experience slow improvements and fall temperatures the remainder of this week, some areas will continue to experience issues with water, especially at high tide.

“Today’s Tuesday, and we’ve got this advisory through Thursday, so it’s not going to be worse than it was this weekend. We don’t have the wind, we don’t have the swell, but it takes a while for that water to calm down,” he said.

Public hearings on the proposed Carolina Bays Parkway extension project have been rescheduled for later this month.

The hearing in Brunswick County originally set for Sept. 29-30 for two locations has been scheduled for Oct. 23 at Sea Trail Convention Center, 74-A Clubhouse Road, Sunset Beach.

The project would entail extending the parkway from its location at S.C. Highway 9 in Horry County, South Carolina, across the North Carolina state line to U.S. 17 in Brunswick County near Shallotte, constructing a multilane full-access freeway.

The meeting will kick off with an open house from 5-6:30 p.m., during which time attendees may review project information, environmental documents and maps of all seven project alternatives. A formal presentation and public hearing will follow at 7 p.m.

The hearing will also be available online and by telephone by dialing (984) 204-1487 with conference ID: 513 946 767#.

The hearing in South Carolina has been scheduled 5-8 p.m. on Oct. 20 in North Strand Recreational Center, 120 State Highway 57 South, Longs. Virtual attendees may join the meeting here.

The hearings originally scheduled for last month were postponed due to coastal storms that churned off the East Coast and pushed heavy surf along much of the North Carolina coast.

Upgrades could begin later this month to a busy intersection in Jacksonville.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced Friday it recently awarded a $8.5 million contract on a project that will improve traffic flow and safety at the intersection of Western Boulevard and Jacksonville Parkway.

Rocky Mount-based Barnhill Contracting Co. “can begin construction as soon as Oct. 27,” at the intersection near the Cross Pointe Center and Gateway Plaza shopping centers, according to an NCDOT news release.

Work at the intersection will include grading, drainage improvements, paving and traffic signal system enhancements. The project is scheduled to be complete, except for planting, by summer 2027.

Updates on the project will be available at NCDOT.gov or on the department’s social media.

Two heavily shoaled channels used by state ferries to Ocracoke Island are expected to be dredged next year, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Corps’ Wilmington District announced Wednesday its award of a contract for maintenance dredging of Rollinson Channel, also known as the Hatteras Ferry Channel, and the Big Foot Slough portion of Silver Lake Harbor at the opposite end of the island.

Chesapeake, Virginia-based Cottrell Contracting Corp. was awarded the $11,778,000 contract to restore the channels to their authorized depths, “which is vital for the safety of mariners, navigation, and the local economy that relies on waterborne commerce and recreational boating,” according to a Corps release.

“This effort will help ensure the continued navigability of these important waterways and support the essential work of our stakeholders at the North Carolina Ferry Division,” the release states. “The Wilmington District is committed to working closely with the contractor and local stakeholders to minimize disruption and ensure a successful project completion.”

The N.C. Department of Transportation has closed a recreational access area off Colington Road in Dare County due to unsafe conditions for pedestrians.

Officials announced Monday that the area, on the north side of Colington Road across from the Colington Fire Department, has seen a deterioration of the bulkhead and its surroundings.

The area has traditionally been used for recreational crabbing and other activities.

A ‘no trespassing’ sign is to be posted and access to the area has been restricted until further notice, according to the announcement.

NCDOT said it is actively seeking to partner with other agencies or organizations to maintain and possibly utilize the area in the near future.

Public hearings scheduled for early next week on the proposed Carolina Bays Parkway extension project have been postponed due to potential coastal storm impacts forecast for North Carolina and South Carolina.

The hearings that were set to be held in Sunset Beach Monday and again Tuesday in Longs, South Carolina, will be rescheduled for a later date, according to a N.C. Department of Transportation release.

The department will alert the public when a new meeting date and time is determined.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District has opened a public comment period on its draft environmental impact statement of the Wilmington Harbor project.

Public comments on the multi-million project to deepen the main channel from a depth of 42 feet to 47 feet will be accepted through Nov. 3.

The Corps’ draft letter report and DEIS are available online.

District officials are scheduled to host an open house from 3-7 p.m. Oct. 8 in downtown Wilmington, where participants will get the opportunity to speak with Corps officials, learn about the conditionally authorized project, ask questions, and provide comments.

The open house will take place in Cape Fear Community College’s Union Station Building, Daniels Hall, 502 N. Front St.

Public comments may be submitted by email to WilmingtonHarbor403@usace.army.mil, by mail to ATTN: Wilmington Harbor 403, 69 Darlington Ave., Wilmington, N.C. 28403, or by comment card at the public meeting.

The North Carolina Division of Coastal Management has issued a permit for the proposed mid-Currituck bridge that would connect mainland Currituck County and its barrier island beaches.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality on Friday announced that the division had issued a Coastal Area Management Act dredge and fill law permit and that, in a separate action, the agency’s Division of Water Resources had issued a Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification for the toll road and 6.7-mile-long bridge.

The project will connect the mainland at U.S. Highway 158 near Aydlett to the Outer Banks near Corolla with two-lane bridges spanning the Currituck Sound and Maple Swamp.

As previously reported in Coastal Review, the project has received wide support from Dare and Currituck counties and most Dare towns, though residents of Currituck County communities on either side of the bridge have expressed concerns about the impacts of more traffic on the neighborhoods’ infrastructure, environment and quality of life.

The N.C. Department of Transportation/North Carolina Turnpike Authority submitted the CAMA permit application one year ago. The Division of Coastal Management accepted the application as complete early this year.

CAMA Major/dredge and fill law permits must be obtained for projects that cover more than 20 acres, include activities that require other state or federal permits, or for construction covering more than 60,000 square feet.

Clean Water Act Section 401 water quality certification determines whether a project complies with state water quality standards.

The Division of Water Resources issued a certification for the project with conditions, which include an agreement to offset unavoidable impacts to wetlands by creating, restoring or enhancing wetlands elsewhere from the construction area.

The applicants are also required to mitigate unavoidable impacts to submerged aquatic vegetation by monitoring for the effects of shading and replacing or restoring impacted vegetation as close to the area as possible.

“The certification also includes a condition that the applicant must submit an update to the project stormwater management plan prior to construction,” according to an NCDEQ release.

Update Oct. 6: NCDOT and SCDOT postponed on Sept. 26 the open houses and public hearings originally scheduled for Sept. 29-30 on extending Carolina Bays Parkway because of inclement weather. The meetings have been rescheduled for Oct. 20 in South Carolina and Oct. 23 in North Carolina.

Original post from Sept. 15 follows:

State transportation agencies in North Carolina and South Carolina are hosting public hearings later this month on the proposed Carolina Bays Parkway Extension project that crosses state lines.

Prehearing open houses on the preferred corridor selected by the North Carolina and South Carolina departments of transportation will be held in-person and livestreamed Sept. 29-30.

The project would entail extending the parkway from its location at S.C. Highway 9 in Horry County, South Carolina., across the North Carolina state line to U.S. 17 in Brunswick County near Shallotte, constructing a multilane full-access freeway.

“The primary purpose of the project is to improve transportation in the area by enhancing mobility and connectivity for traffic moving in and through the project area,” according to a Brunswick County release.

The first hearing is scheduled to be held 5-8 p.m., Sept. 29, at Sea Trail Convention Center, 75-A Clubhouse Road, Sunset Beach. Join the meeting virtually via Microsoft Teams.

A hearing in South Carolina is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. on Sept. 30 at North Strand Recreation Center, 120 State Highway 57 South, Longs. Join that meeting virtually.

The same information will be presented at both meetings, with formal presentations to begin at 7 p.m.

Representatives from both state agencies will be available to answer questions and receive comments about the proposed project.

Public comments may also be submitted to NCDOT.

Written comments will be accepted at the meetings or may be submitted by phone at 855-925-2801, enter project code 7734, or by email at Carolina-Bays-Pkwy@publicinput.com or at NCDOT’s public input portal by Oct. 31.

Additional information or comments may be mailed to Aaron R. LeBeau, P.E.,
Project Manager, NCDOT Division 3 – Project Development Unit, 5501 Barbados Blvd.
Castle Hayne, NC 28429.

Auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act will be provided for disabled persons who wish to participate in this workshop. Those requiring special services should contact Jamille Robbins, NCDOT public involvement, as early as possible at: 855-925-2801, enter project code 7734 or email Carolina-Bays-Pkwy@publicinput.com.

Interpretive services for those who do not speak English or have a limited ability to read may will be available upon request before the meetings by calling 1-800-481-6494.

North Carolina Department of Transportation will be under new leadership next month.

Secretary Joey Hopkins is retiring from the state Oct. 1, and Navy veteran and current NCDOT Deputy Secretary and General Counsel Daniel Johnson will take over the role, the governor’s office announced Friday.

Johnson has been in his existing position since 2019. Previously, he worked in private practice, was an assistant district attorney in Wake County, and served as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy. Johnson is a Navy and Marine Corps Medal recipient, which is the highest noncombat decoration awarded for heroism, according to the governor’s office.

“We have much work ahead to strengthen our infrastructure in western North Carolina, as well as to lead our entire state into the future of transportation. With his record of public service, leadership, and expertise in transportation, Daniel Johnson is the right person for the job. I welcome him to the role and look forward to working together to build a safer, stronger, and better-connected North Carolina,” Stein said in a statement.

Johnson is a native of Hickory and earned undergraduate and law degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“Secretary Hopkins leaves a legacy of leadership that I can only hope to continue,” Johnson said. “We must continue the task of building a transportation system that meets the needs of our growing state, and I am eager to get to work.”

Hopkins spent decades in public service. He acted as NCDOT’s chief operating officer before being appointed Secretary of Transportation in October 2023.

“It has been an honor to serve as Secretary of Transportation, and I am grateful to all the North Carolinians who put their trust in our team,” Hopkins said. “Daniel Johnson has been a valuable advisor to me, and I am proud to pass the torch to him.”

Hopkins helped develop the North Carolina’s Strategic Prioritization Process.

“Secretary Hopkins has served at the Department of Transportation for more than 30 years and was planning for his retirement until Hurricane Helene struck our state,” Stein explained. “I asked him to delay his retirement to help steer us through the early phases of recovery and rebuilding. I am so grateful that he did, and we have reopened 97% of our state-maintained roads. He is a true public servant, beloved across the state and across the aisle, and I wish him a joyful retirement with his family.”

Weight restrictions have been placed on the Southport-Fort Fisher ferry route after a ramp at the Southport terminal was damaged over the weekend.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced the restrictions will be in place “until further notice.”

Any vehicle weighing over 18 tons, including tractor trailers, dump trucks, heavy equipment, fuel tankers and similar types of vehicles or equipment, will not be allowed onto the ramp.

“School buses, campers, trucks and trailers are not restricted and will be allowed to board,” according to a DOT release.

The restrictions will remain in place until the ramp system is repaired.

The Village of Bald Head Island’s legal dispute over the sale of the only ferry service system to the island has come to end.

Mayor Peter Quinn announced Tuesday afternoon that the Brunswick County Clerk of Superior Court filed a final judgement earlier that day, bringing “all aspects of the litigation surrounding the transportation system to an end.”

“The Village Council voted to waive its right to seek discretionary appellate review of the court’s ruling on the Right of First Refusal to purchase the transportation system,” Quinn wrote. “The final legal outcome with respect to the transportation system fell short of what the Village had hoped for in undertaking these efforts.”

Quinn’s announcement comes a little more than a month after the North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that sided with the owners of the private transportation system.

The three-judge panel ruled that the village does not have the right of first refusal to accept a third-party offer to buy the ferries, trams and barges.

In 2022, Bald Head Island Limited petitioned the N.C. Utilities Commission to approve the sale of the ferry and tram operation to SharpVue Capital, LLC, a Raleigh-based investment company.

The village, Bald Head Island Association and Bald Head Island Club intervened in the proceeding and, in August 2023, the commission approved the sale, subject to certain regulatory conditions meant to protect ferry customers. The village appealed, arguing that the commission’s order did not go far enough in safeguarding customers into the future.

An appellate court in November 2024 rejected that argument.

“Ultimately, the litigation established a clearer definition of the role of the Utilities Commission in regulating service, schedule, and fees,” Quinn wrote. “The Village remains committed to supporting Bald Head Island Limited in providing our community with the best possible transportation system. Toward this end, we will continue to engage with them and their successor.”

According to Quinn’s letter, the village has spent more than $3.8 million since 2020 on outside legal, utilities, bond counsel, expert witness, advisory, and financial consultants.

“Excepting minor miscellaneous expenses, my understanding is that our accounts are current. At the end of the fiscal year, unused monies budgeted for these expenses will be rolled into the Village’s general fund,” Quinn wrote.

The North Carolina Ferry Division, under the N.C. Department of Transportation, announced on Friday that four of its ferry routes will adjust for the off-season.

The Ocracoke Express passenger ferry will end its seasonal service on Sept. 15. The 2025 season for the ferry that transports up to 129 passengers between Hatteras and Ocracoke’s Silver Lake Harbor began May 13.

The motor-vehicle ferries traveling between Southport and Fort Fisher, Swan Quarter and Ocracoke, and Cedar Island and Ocracoke are to begin Tuesday adhering to the following off-season schedules:

Cedar Island to Ocracoke: 7:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Ocracoke to Cedar Island: 7:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Ocracoke to Swan Quarter: 7 a.m., 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Southport to Fort Fisher during the week: 5:30 a.m., 7 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.

Fort Fisher to Southport during the week: 6:15 a.m., 7:45 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Southport to Fort Fisher on weekends: 7 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.

Fort Fisher to Southport on weekends: 7:45 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:15 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Visit the website for a complete schedule of all state-run ferries.

Leland’s long-term project to resurface roadways within town limits began this week and is expected to continue for several months.

The project follows a 20-year life cycle to resurface up to 5% of the town’s roadways each year. About 5 miles of roads will be resurfaced this year, according to a town release.

Construction has begun on Grandiflora Drive near Kobus Court in Magnolia Greens and will progress toward Lanvale Road through Wyland Court, Stanfield Court, Greymoss Lane, Pine Harvest Drive, Parkmore Court, Alba Lane, Tommy Jacobs Drive, Sunburst Way, Carolina Avenue, Westport Drive, Eric Court, Potomac Court, and Avenbury Court.

Construction is expected from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday through the fall. Residents should expect some delays and asked to use caution when traveling through the construction zones.

The Leland Town Council earlier this year awarded a $1.76 million construction contract for the project, which includes milling, full-depth patching where needed, asphalt overlay, new pavement markings, and new street signs.

Survey and design plans are underway for the next round of road resurfacing scheduled to begin next year.

Additional information about Leland’s resurfacing program is available on the town’s website.

Hatteras Islanders will not soon forget Hurricane Isabel, which formed a new inlet and destroyed the only highway connection when it slammed the island Sept. 18, 2003.

The storm and its aftermath further increased residents’ sense of isolation and their appreciation for the people who make their living on the water and are credited with restarting the local economy.

Nearly a quarter century later, an annual event celebrates the hurricane’s heroes, the commercial fishing and commercial charter operators, and the islanders’ perseverance amid the devastation. This year’s Day at the Docks is set for Sept. 19-20.

The family-friendly event offers numerous activities along the waterfront and docks in Hatteras Village.

Events include a fishing contest, live music, maritime storytelling and cooking demonstrations. There will be an education tent that features a variety of organizations that support the coast through advocacy, education and habitat restoration and preservation.

The groups include the North Carolina Coastal Federation, which publishes Coastal Review and whose representatives will be on hand to share information about National Estuaries Week, Sept. 20-27, and its work in partnership with the South Atlantic Salt Marsh initiative.

At the Coastal Federation tent, visitors can join interactive activities to learn about nature-based solutions and ongoing projects that strengthen the community’s coastal resilience. Guests will also be invited to share the places that matter most to them, helping guide future efforts to protect and restore the coast.

The organizers’ website has more information and Day at the Docks event schedules.

Transportation officials plan to reopen a portion of River Road, part of N.C. Highway 133, in Brunswick County to traffic after being closed for several months for improvements.

The road near Funston Road set to open Friday has been closed since mid-December but the project is on schedule, North Carolina Department of Transportation officials announced Wednesday.

While the segment of highway was closed, NCDOT contract crews replaced a drainage pipe with a larger aluminum one. Multiple other pipes were also replaced with a bridge and culvert nearly 400 feet long to make the road and surrounding area more resilient during storms.

For the safety of motorists and crews, people should not drive around barriers while the road remains closed.

Drivers are encouraged to be alert and cautious as NCDOT crews remove the barriers and reopen the road on Friday.

EAST LAKE — In the sadder, more gruesome labor of wildlife conservation, a new count of dead wildlife on the asphalt of two strips of highway within Alligator River Wildlife Refuge continues to reflect the merciless decimation of living creatures by vehicular traffic.

A new report, “US 64 Roadkill Monitoring Survey Year One Interim Report,” released Aug. 13 by the nonprofit Wildlands Network, counted more than 5,000 vertebrates representing 144 species, as well as 1,050 snakes, 1,186 turtles, and 1,529 frogs dead alongside the highway or flattened on the pavement. The first year of the two-year study covered Aug. 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025.

“It’s pretty remarkable carnage, and we’re sure that’s an underestimate, because some things get removed by vultures,” Ron Sutherland, the conservation group’s chief scientist, told Coastal Review.

The updated information will be valuable to planning for proposed wildlife crossings under sections of U.S. Highway 64 and nearby U.S. 264, a need highlighted over the years by numerous vehicle strikes of critically endangered red wolves. Huge bear and deer that run into the road are also increasing hazards to human life, especially at night. 

Although the red wolf had once roamed much of the Southeast, the only wild population of about 30 red wolves, including about a dozen pups, is currently managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Alligator River and Pocosin Lakes refuges within a five-county recovery area in northeastern North Carolina, a good portion of which is intersected by the two highways. 

“One happy surprise is we didn’t see any red wolves,” Sutherland told Coastal Review. “One of the reasons we set out to do the project, one of our goals, was to keep the road clean of roadkill.”

Vehicle strikes, in addition to gunshots, have threatened recovery of the species.  Wolves have been known to be drawn to the highway to eat the dead animals, and tragically suffer the same fate as their would-be meal.

“Research is an important step in the construction of wildlife crossing structures,” the report states. “In order to be cost effective, it is imperative to know where hotspots of wildlife road-crossing activity occur so the sites can be chosen that are most effective both in mitigating wildlife road collisions and maintaining habitat connectivity.”

The study route was chosen to inform planning efforts by North Carolina Department of Transportation, Fish and Wildlife, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to develop proposals for wildlife crossings and fencing installations on U.S. 64, the report stated, “with the immediate goal” of reducing wolf strikes.

“We also realized that providing more recent roadkill data would be essential as a fresh baseline for evaluating any future wildlife crossings that were installed on the highway,” according to the report.

Earlier roadkill surveys along U.S. 64 were completed between 2008 and 2011 as part of the North Carolina Department of Transportation planning for a proposed 27.3-mile-long widening and bridge replacement project. The road-widening plans, which had included numerous wildlife crossings, have since been dropped, but construction of a replacement bridge connecting Dare and Tyrrell counties over Alligator River is underway. Construction plans include wildlife crossings and under-road tie-ins at both ends of the bridge.

Sutherland said that the survey team chose to drive at a less pokey pace, about 35 mph or so, and skipped weekend surveying, due to the increased amount of traffic now on the highway. Wildlife officers were informed about large carcasses such as bear so they could be promptly removed, and smaller creatures were scooped up and tossed into the woods. Not pleasant, but unfortunately dead animals along the road are not unusual.

“Overall, you know, I’ve had a lot of years of experience working down there and seeing the wildlife before we started the survey,” Sutherland said. 

While he wasn’t shocked by the continued high numbers of roadkill, he said he didn’t expect to see so many birds. In one period of time, after a rare snowstorm, the technicians found hundreds of deceased yellow-rumped warblers alongside the road, many of which were apparently struck while seeking patches of grass without snow cover. It may not prove Darwin’s theory of natural selection, but intelligence matters even for birdbrains.  As Sutherland noted, of the 68 different types of dead birds — totaling about 800 — there were only three crows, the geniuses of the bird world.

“We know how to keep all these other wildlife species from getting hit on the road, because you can build crossings under or over the road, with fencing to steer them to the right places,” he said. “And it works for basically everything, but the birds. That’s going to take some work to figure out.”

Last December, U.S. Federal Highways’ Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program awarded a $25 million grant to build crossings on U.S. 64 by Buffalo City Road, a red wolf “hot spot” in East Lake on the Dare County mainland where the animals often cross into the refuge. Wildlands Network teamed up with the Center for Biological Diversity, another conservation nonprofit, to raise an additional $4 million in private donations for matching funds, Sutherland said.

If all goes as hoped, Sutherland expects that construction of the crossings could start in late 2026

“It’s expensive because they’re having to raise the road up to be able to put underpasses underneath,” he said, adding that design details are still being worked out.

With the project construction including what he described as a kind of “big ramp,” there will be opportunities to also put small crossings and tunnels on each side for the little crawling, slithering and hopping species, hopefully allowing a total of six to 10 crossings.

“But that’s going to be kind of a win-win situation, because that way that at least part of Highway 64 is going to be elevated,” Sutherland said. “And with sea level rise and storms and hurricanes and so forth, it’s going to be a good for climate resiliency, too, to have the road elevated.”

Transportation along the Outer Banks is beginning to return to normal in the aftermath of Hurricane Erin’s close pass.

N.C. Highway 12 on Ocracoke Island, which ocean water washed over and partially undermined during storm-amplified high tides, was set to reopen at 5 p.m. Monday.

The Hatteras-Ocracoke vehicle ferry was to begin service also at 5 p.m. with an amended schedule overnight followed by a full schedule Tuesday morning.

The ferry schedule tonight is as follows:

• Departures from Hatteras at 5, 6, 7:30, 8, 9, 11 p.m. and midnight.
• Departures from Ocracoke at 6, 6:30, 7:30, 9, 9:30, 10:30 p.m. and midnight.

The ferries will resume the regular summer schedules on Tuesday.

“Keep in mind, there will be some water and a thin skim of sand on the highway, so please drive with extreme caution if heading that way,” North Carolina Department of Transportation officials said in a Facebook post. “Our crews will also be continuing to work on the road, so please give them room to work.”

N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island reopened Saturday, and those who had evacuated were allowed to return. The Marc Basnight Bridge reopened at noon Saturday.

The highway was closed the evening of Aug. 20 after severe overwash from Hurricane Erin inundated a section of the highway with deep water and sand north of the National Park Service Pony Pens. Since then, NCDOT crews have been working to clear N.C. 12 between high tide cycles to make the road safe for travel.

Also, the Buxton Woods Reserve site of the North Carolina Coastal has reopened after being closed since Aug. 18 because of the potential risks associated with the storm.

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.

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.”

The highway will remained closed until it is safe to open, officials said.

Effects of Hurricane Erin, including flooding, storm surge and overwash have already begun on the coast, and will worsen overnight, National Weather Service meteorologists said late Wednesday morning.

“Despite the path of Erin forecast to remain offshore, the threat for life-threatening rip currents, damaging beach erosion, major coastal flooding and overwash, and extremely dangerous surf continues as expected,” forecasters said. “Erin is expected to increase in storm size, and tropical storm force winds will reach the coast, especially the Outer Banks.”

Gov. Josh Stein and state emergency management and transportation officials reiterated during a press briefing Wednesday that the coast will feel the effects event though the storm will pass a few hundred miles offshore.

“Based on the current forecast, we are anticipating coastal flooding from massive waves, tropical storm force winds, and tidal and storm surge for much of the state shoreline, especially the Outer Banks, from this evening through Thursday,” as well as life threatening rip currents, and extensive beach erosion along much of the coast, Stein said.

As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, Hurricane Erin was about 335 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras with maximum sustained winds at 110 mph. The storm was moving north at 13 mph and is forecast to move northwest, and then northeast through midweek.

Storm surge warnings and tropical storm warnings were in effect Wednesday for Cape Lookout to Duck. A tropical storm warning is in effect for Beaufort Inlet to Chincoteague, Virginia, including Pamlico and Albemarle sounds. Moderate to significant storm surge inundation of 2 to 4 feet above ground level is expected along the oceanside north of Cape Lookout, and the worst impacts will likely be felt along the Outer Banks on Ocracoke and Hatteras islands, forecasters said.

Strong rip currents are expected through the remainder of the week, and extensive beach erosion is likely. Waves could reach 20 feet in height with wave periods of 15 or more seconds, with the highest on the Outer Banks.

Warning Coordination Meteorologist Erik Heden with the National Weather Service’s Newport office said during his midday briefing Wednesday that, in terms of impacts, the forecast hadn’t changed since Sunday.

A borderline Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, Hurricane Erin was starting to turn to the north, Heden said, and his office has “high confidence” the storm was going to turn to the northeast. Category 3 winds are from 111 to 129 mph.

Heden urged those along the coast to keep in mind that if Erin gets a little stronger or weakens in terms of just wind speed overnight, that “doesn’t matter for us. We’re still going to have high impacts along our coast,” Heden said. “No matter what happens to the strength, please know that our impacts have not changed.”

Stein, during his briefing, reminded listeners that states of emergency had been declared for Currituck, Dare and Hyde counties. Mandatory evacuations were put in place for visitors and residents earlier this week for Ocracoke and Hatteras islands.

“Yesterday, I declared a state of emergency across North Carolina to facilitate our emergency response and to keep you safe,” which enables the state government “to send critical resources from across the state and around the country to respond,” he said.

Stein said he wanted to emphasize “the importance of taking this storm seriously, because it’s a serious storm and conditions can deteriorate quickly, please take these steps to ensure your safety,” which include staying informed by following reputable sources like the National Weather Service and local media, having a disaster kit ready, and an evacuation plan set.

“And finally, do not drive through floodwaters. Too many people have died driving into flooded roadways. Don’t do it. You do not know how deep the water is or how fast it is running, so please don’t drown. Turn around. We do not want you to become a casualty of Hurricane Erin,” he said.

State Emergency Management Director Will Ray said he wanted to remind everyone, that “regardless of the track of the center of the storm, dangerous conditions can be felt far from the eye, especially with the system as large as Erin.”

Wave action and storm surges of 2 to 4 feet will likely erode dunes along portions of the coast, especially east- and southeast-facing beaches and the Outer Banks, and cause numerous roadways to become impassable, especially N.C. Highway 12.

Ray said no significant federal resources were expected to be needed to support response, but the agency would continue to reassess throughout the storm.

He said coordination around problems such as abandoned or derelict vessels, or anything that could create hazardous debris in waterways, “those are conversations we’ve been having over the course of this week with the various federal agencies.” Those include the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard providing support, “on how we, one, support life safety missions in those impacted areas, but also have the right federal resources postured should they be needed to deal with some of the infrastructure impacts there.”

When asked about long-term plans to preserve N.C. 12, Stein said officials will have to wait and see what the extent of the damage is from this storm.

“Look, people love our Outer Banks. It’s a national treasure, and you need to be able to get to them. We have ferries that take us to the islands, but this is an important road for North Carolina,” Stein said. “So many people live there. There’s so much tourism dollars that goes on that road. It is an important asset to the state. And then we need to do everything we can to protect and preserve it.”

North Carolina Department of Transportation officials in a press release shortly after Stein spoke advised people on the coast to avoid traveling starting Wednesday night because the rain and winds from the western edge of the storm could flood and damage coastal bridges and roads, including N.C. 12.

The Currituck County Sheriff’s Office has identified the driver of the vehicle that struck and killed a young stallion earlier this week.

Trevor Odell Belcher of Greenville, Tennessee, was driving a 2010 Chevrolet, traveling south on Sandfiddler Road, which is not paved, when he struck the horse that was crossing in the path of his vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.

Belcher stopped his vehicle and called 911 for assistance. His vehicle was not drivable.

Related: Driver strikes, kills 10-year-old stallion in Currituck County

No drugs or alcohol were involved and the driver was not charged, according to a sheriff’s office report.

The incident occurred at about 5 a.m. Monday.

The horse was a 10-year-old stallion named Francisco.

Staff with the Corolla Wild Horse Fund ask that motorists drive carefully and be aware of surroundings at all times, and obey traffic regulations on the four-wheel-drive beach area

BOILING SPRING LAKES – For the most part, work had wrapped on Pine Lake Dam here back in mid-June.

The light at the end of a tunnel of headaches caused since the closure of one of this city’s main traffic arteries, portions of which run atop Pine Lake and North Lake dams, was shining brighter and brighter.

With the dams complete, reconstruction could begin on sections of East Boiling Spring Road that have since the summer of 2023 been closed while crews rebuild and restore the dam system crippled by rainfall during Hurricane Florence nearly seven years ago.

But a swift burst of rain that drenched this little Brunswick County city on June 14 revealed that something was not right about the nearly finished Pine Lake Dam. It did not seem to be functioning properly.

That was the message one of the city’s commissioners relayed in a phone call to town staff that day. Rainwater, the commissioner reported, wasn’t stacking up behind the dam.

“In other words, there wasn’t a lake there,” City Manager Gordon Hargrove said. “It was a significant rainfall and it should have held some water. It did not hold water. It was running right through the dam.”

An investigation found that Pine Lake Dam, the design for which was vetted in multiple reviews by both federal and state agencies, is at an elevation of about 5 feet too low.

More than a month has passed since the city informed its residents of the revelation, one that has drawn a firestorm of criticism and finger pointing in a matter that might very well end up getting hashed out in court.

No timeline in sight

Today, large bright-white and blaze-orange barricades block off a roughly 750-foot stretch of neatly packed dirt and coarse sand imitating a road over top of Pine Lake Dam.

Pine Lake Dam is part of a system of five earthen dams initially built here in the mid-1960s.

Throughout the years, the dams withstood the brute force from powerful coastal storms that have swept through the region.

But the unprecedented rain Hurricane Florence dumped in September 2018 over the area – up to more than 30 inches in some parts of coastal North Carolina – proved too much.

Rainwater filled the 275-acre Boiling Spring Lake to the brink, overtopping Sanford Dam. The breach, paired with substantial embankment erosion, led to the dam’s catastrophic failure.

The breach caused a domino-like effect of failures at all four of the smaller upstream dams in the city, and then the lakes that made up Boiling Spring Lakes were no more.

During the years since, the city secured about $56 million in funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, through Department of Defense grants, and Brunswick County to repair and restore the dams it owns and operates: North Lake, Pine Lake, Sanford, and Upper Lake dams. A fifth dam, Middle Lake Dam, is privately owned.

That funding has been spent, in part, on hiring firms to undertake the task of designing and building dams that meet today’s safety codes.

Work to restore Sanford Dam was progressing nicely, Hargrove said, when another coastal storm, one often referred to in these parts as the “unnamed storm,” caught Brunswick County and southern portions of New Hanover County by surprise last September.

Potential Tropical Cyclone No. Eight pummeled Boiling Spring Lakes with more than 20 inches of rain within a short period of time. Rain waters swept away Sanford Dam’s bypass channel, destroying the work that had been completed thus far and forcing construction crews to essentially start from scratch.

“Weather forecast was for 3 inches,” Hargrove said. “We got 22. It flooded out the detour route and so people were stranded in particular pockets in that side of town with no way of getting out.”

The city experienced a similar scenario last May with residents becoming trapped in patches of the community as a wildfire spread through the area and jumped N.C. Highway 87.

East Boiling Spring Road is a primary entry and exit point as a hurricane evacuation route through the city.

“So, yes, there’s a lot of angst involved with getting this road open,” Hargrove said. “I mean, we have looked at every possible alternative short of building a bridge, but by the time we finish a bridge, this project will be done.”

When that might happen remains an unanswered question.

“The setback with Pine Lake Dam, I can’t even give you a timeline of how long it’s going to keep that road closed. It took 12 months to get our permits last time” from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Dam Safety Program, Hargrove said.

Days after Hargrove met for an interview with Coastal Review in city hall, he returned to the commissioners’ chamber for the board’s Aug. 5 meeting, where he provided an update on the dams.

Work continues at Sanford Dam. Had it not been for the potential tropical cyclone last September, that dam would be finished, he said. Upper Lake Dam is complete.

The section of East Boiling Spring Road atop the newly reconstructed North Lake Dam will hopefully be finished in the next two to three weeks, Hargrove told commissioners.

There was still no word as to when construction to fix Pine Lake Dam might begin.

Hargrove explained that Sequoia Services, LLC, the Greensboro-based construction company hired by the city to rebuild the dams, agreed to build a temporary road atop the dam.

But the city would be responsible for any damages to the site should any occur if the temporary road, one that would cost an additional $175,000, were to be built. Pine Lake Dam is valued at $3.5 million.

Commissioners voted against the proposal, saying it was a liability too steep.

Who’s responsible?

Hargrove didn’t mince words when he sat down for an interview with Coastal Review on a late July morning.

“There’s going to be some things I’ll talk about and then there’s, for liability reasons and that sort of thing, I’m not going to comment on them because this is obviously an issue that could grow larger over time,” he said.

The defunct Pine Lake Dam is not the construction contractor’s fault, Hargrove said. The contractor built the dam to the design the company was given.

“I’m not willing to say where the problem exists and how that problem came about. It’s the city’s position that this is a third-party responsibility,” Hargrove said.

The city hired consulting firms Ashville-based McGill Associates and Greensboro-based Schnabel Engineering to design the project.

Those designs were vetted through a series of agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA and N.C. Dam Safety.

“As it goes up through the line, they’re really not getting into the hydraulics and analysis,” Hargrove said. “They’re just looking to make sure that the math works. So, the primary responsibility for the design of that dam is McGill and Schnabel.”

During the city commissioners meeting July 8, McGill Vice President Michael Hanson said that, unlike the other dams, there were no sufficient surveys or as-built records for Pine Lake Dam.

“We relied on information that was provided by the city, which was the best available information that was the original design plans,” Hanson said at the meeting, according to a WECT-TV report. “We relied on that information and moved forward. That was reviewed and approved by city staff. That was reviewed and approved by Dam Safety.”

This was Hanson’s first update to commissioners in a public setting since June 27 when the city announced in a social media post that Pine Lake Dam was defective.

The public’s response to that update was biting. There were one-word retorts including “Figures” and “Unbelievable” to accusations of “backdoor deals” and at least one call for city tax refunds to residents.

One commenter correctly pointed out, “THE HOOVER DAM WAS BUILT IN 5 YEARS, Y’ALL! In the 1930’s.”

The engineering marvel that spans the Nevada-Arizona border was, in fact, built from 1931-36, but not without disaster. The official number of people who died at the dam site during that time from causes ranging to drowning, blasting, rock slides, falls from the canyon walls, and heavy equipment and truck accidents, is 96, according to the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation.

City officials understand the mounting anger and frustration from Boiling Spring Lakes residents.

Hargrove wants them to know that commissioners have and continue to be “very proactive” and have tried to make sure the dam reconstruction cost doesn’t fall on the city’s taxpayers.

Earlier this year, commissioners approved an 8-cent tax hike, revenues of which will cover the costs of the city’s new stormwater department.

“This board does focus and look at the future and how we can improve it,” Hargrove said. “It just takes time. We’re catching up to 30 or 40 years of inactivity, but this board, my administration, are working hard to put that into play.”

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to complete the final segment of the Hampstead Bypass.

A $182 million contract has been awarded to S.T. Wooten Corp. to build about a 7-mile stretch of roadway that will connect and improve the flow of traffic between Pender and New Hanover counties, according to an NCDOT release.

This final stretch of roadway will extend from N.C. Highway 140, which bypasses U.S. 17 business through Wilmington, to N.C. 210 to complete the nearly 13-mile bypass.

Construction will include grading, drainage, paving and structures and “can begin as early as late August,” according to the release. Work is expected to be completed in 2030.

“The Hampstead Bypass project remains a top priority for the Department and is crucial for the continued growth of the region,” transportation Division 3 Engineer Trevor Carroll stated in the release. “This is a huge milestone as we work toward the completion of the bypass.”

Ongoing construction of the bypass from N.C. 210 to north of Hampstead is anticipated to be completed in late 2027.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling that sides with the owners of the private transportation system that provides service to and from Bald Head Island.

A three-judge panel ruled the Village of Bald Head Island does not have the right of first refusal to accept a third-party offer to buy the privately owned ferries, trams and barges.

According to the ruling, filed Wednesday, a 1999 arrangement between the ferry owner and the village is null because it was never signed off by the N.C. Utilities Commission.

Appellate Judge Jefferson Griffin stated in the ruling that it is “inconsequential now” as to who was obligated to get the commission’s approval.

“The two parties do not dispute that approval was never obtained,” Griffin wrote.

Judges Valerie Zachery and Julee Flood concurred in the ruling.

In an email message to village property owners late Wednesday, Mayor Peter Quinn said the village is reviewing the decision.

“In the meantime, we continue to engage with BHI Limited and BHI Transportation to support them in their service to our community and work with them in responding to our community’s concerns,” Quinn wrote.

The ruling is the latest in what marks a long-running dispute over the sale of the only ferry service system to the village.

Bald Head Island Limited petitioned the utilities commission in 2022 to approve the sale of the ferry and tram operation to SharpVue Capital, LLC, a Raleigh-based investment company.

The village, Bald Head Island Association and Bald Head Island Club intervened in the proceeding and, in August 2023, the commission approved the sale, subject to certain regulatory conditions meant to protect ferry customers.

The village appealed, arguing that the commission’s order did not go far enough in safeguarding customers into the future.

Last November, a different three-judge panel rejected the village’s request.

A section of River Road in Wilmington will be closed starting later this month through to next year as construction continues on a new roundabout.

The road will be closed the morning of Aug. 18 between Coleman Drive and Independence Boulevard with construction anticipated to last six months. Digital message boards will be placed along the route on Wednesday to alert drivers to the closures to come.

Beginning Wednesday, Aug. 6, digital message boards are to be placed along the route to alert drivers of the closures to come.

A detour will route drives to Carolina Beach Road via Raleigh Street and Sunnyvale Drive.

Traffic will still be permitted through the intersection, with northbound motorists on River Road turning right onto Independence Boulevard toward Carolina Beach Road, and those traveling southbound on Independence Boulevard turning left onto River Road toward Riverlights.

The new, single-lane roundabout is a $2.42 million joint project between the city, Riverlights, and Proximity Watermark Development. The roundabout is designed to improve safety and traffic flow through the busy corridor.

Featured Image

The North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division vehicle ferry Avon prepares to dock at the Minnesott Beach Ferry Terminal in Pamlico County, making one of the service’s numerous daily, 20-minute trips each way, back and forth between here and the Cherry Branch terminal across the Neuse River in Craven County. The Avon is one of 21 state ferries serving commuters and visitors on seven routes across the Neuse, Cape Fear and Pamlico rivers, and the Currituck and Pamlico sounds, and their schedules vary seasonally. Photo: Dylan Ray

The Outer Banks are known for vast, uncrowded beaches, towering lighthouses, and unique cottages, and while these features beckon millions of visitors, some Outer Banks communities are not as well-known.

Rather than towns, most communities here are unincorporated villages, each home to residential homes and unobtrusive tourist accommodations, a few businesses, and a post office. Hatteras may be one of the best known of these villages.

While it is much smaller than incorporated coastal towns like Beaufort or Edenton, Hatteras is home to centuries of history and a number of notable sites, particularly on the southwest tip of its namesake island.

Hatteras Island was populated in the 16th century by the Croatoan Native Americans. They hunted, fished and ate oysters, depositing the shells in massive middens that are one of the few remaining visible indicators of where they lived. They were one of the many Native peoples that the Roanoke Colony interacted with in the 1580s.

The Croatans allied with the Europeans and counted among their numbers Manteo, the first Native American christened by the English in the New World. They factor into the story of the Lost Colony, since Hatteras Island was one of the many areas where the colonists were rumored to have gone after leaving Roanoke. Due to the shifting sands of Hatteras and the lack of definitive records, the fate of the colonists remains a mystery to this day.

Europeans returned to the area in the middle of the 17th century. Historian David Stick notes in his book, “The Outer Banks of North Carolina,” that the first documented English settlers on Hatteras Banks, Patrick Mackuen and William Reed, likely arrived there by 1711. People on Hatteras lived by fishing, farming, and piloting boats. They also took cargo from the many shipwrecks that regularly washed ashore from the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

Despite a growing number of families living on Hatteras, the area was slow to develop as a proper town. Isolated and accessible only by water, Hatteras did not abut one of the major inlets that was open during the colonial period. As a result, it was ignored by the same legislative assemblies that facilitated town construction at nearby Portsmouth and Ocracoke islands. Although numerous people resided on the southwestern portion of the island by the late 18th century, colonial maps often showed just the empty banks and the cape. The area known today as Hatteras Village finally gained its first post office in 1858.

Hatteras remained mostly isolated through the 18th and early 19th centuries. But while it did not have obvious economic importance, it did have military significance to any group wanting to approach or protect North Carolina by water. This led to the construction of Confederate forts Hatteras and Clark on Hatteras Inlet in 1861.

The forts were surrendered to Union in the first combined action of the Army and Navy during the Civil War. This success, the first by Union Gen. Ambrose Burnside, helped the Union gain control of the North Carolina coast and allowed for future invasions of Roanoke Island and the eastern part of the state.

The post-Civil War period saw the emergence of coastal life-saving stations. These buildings housed crews organized to rescue victims from shipwrecks using the latest technology, such as the Lyle gun used to shoot rescue lines.

Three U.S. Life-saving Service stations lined Hatteras Island by 1905, from Durants near the village to Cape Hatteras at the eastern end of the island. Along with greater lifesaving capabilities came a new effort at political organization. Dare County, one of the last counties formed in North Carolina, was created in 1870 from what had been parts of Currituck, Hyde and Tyrrell counties to help administer the far-flung islands of the Outer Banks. Its southern boundary was the western tip of Hatteras Island.

The modern village of Hatteras began to develop in the early 20th century. Locals built a string of houses such as the Ellsworth and Lovie Ballance House, circa 1915, one of the oldest structures in the village and a survivor of numerous hurricanes over the past century, according to state historic preservation records. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

Growth came mainly from tourism. Greater rail and automobile transportation helped more and more visitors reach the beach from such areas as Raleigh, Charlotte and northern cities. More tourists meant an increase in ferry traffic and the growth of roads that made those ferries accessible, such as the highway that became U.S. 264 connecting Belhaven, Swan Quarter and U.S. Highway 64 near Manns Harbor.

In the 1930s, the conservation movement also brought nature tourism to the island through the authorization of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in 1937, one of the first seashore-protection programs in the country. Conservation protected a unique ecosystem that continues to bring thousands of birding, fishing, and native plant enthusiasts each year. 

With these dynamics in place, Hatteras became a popular vacation destination. Thousands flocked to the coast every summer and engaged in new recreational activities such as surfing and kiteboarding. Demand led to new transportation outlets. The state began to pave roads on Hatteras Island in the 1950s, but it was the completion of the Herbert S. Bonner Bridge in 1963 that provided a direct land connection between Hatteras and the rest of the country.

Soon, the island became home to shops, restaurants and hotels, as well as the familiar fishing shacks and isolated tourist cottages. A 1990 New York Times travel article that praised Hatteras Island’s beach as “one of the loveliest on the East Coast,” also singled out the village for offering “the color of a commercial fishing hub.”

Hatteras has become one of the most popular tourist destinations on the East Coast, growth that has fundamentally altered life in the sleepy fishing village. About 500 residents now live in Hatteras Village fulltime. There are about a dozen restaurants, several seafood markets, general stores, visitor centers, and the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. A number of these businesses operate year-round and cater to both locals and the summer influx of tourists.

Despite these changes, residents largely are thankful that Hatteras retains much of its village charm.

Patricia Peele, a lifelong resident of the island, told Coastal Review that as recently as 15 years ago, it was like “they used to roll the streets up at 9 p.m. on Labor Day.”

Now, there are always tourists, filling a plethora of mini-hotels across the island. But Peele said that despite the changes, she knows that Hatteras is still secluded compared to the rest of the Outer Banks. It is “not built up like a lot of other places are,” and with the protections provided by the National Park Service, growth will likely remain limited.

Still, Hatteras Village faces many of the same challenges as the rest of the Outer Banks, including those related to rising sea levels, limited resources and strong coastal storms.

The Basnight Bridge, which replaced the Bonner Bridge when the 2.8-mile, $254 million project was completed in 2019, keeps Hatteras Island connected to the mainland, and no matter the challenges, people of Hatteras will likely continue to adapt to life on their ocean sandbar — just as they always have.

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

After wrestling for years to secure timely maintenance of the Rodanthe-Stumpy Point emergency ferry channel for Hatteras Island, the Dare County Waterways Commission decided Monday that the best solution would be for the county to secure the permits to have its local dredge do the work.

The commission had agreed last month to request modification of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ permit that would allow mechanical dredging of a troublesome area in Rodanthe Harbor. But after recent discussions with the Corps, Ken Willson, the county’s consultant with Wilmington-based Coastal Protection Engineering, said that in considering all the factors, it made sense for the county to explore permitting for dredging the channel to 12 feet and working as needed year-round.

“The idea for going deeper is basically to allow the Miss Katie (the county vessel) to do maintenance dredging,” Willson, speaking remotely, told commissioners at its July meeting in Manteo.

As Willson explained, the Corps is authorized to dredge “6 feet plus 2” feet deep with a pipeline dredge, but it cannot dredge in the warm months during turtle nesting season.

The permit would have to be modified to allow mechanical dredging with a bucket-and-barge, but that application would cost about $100,000 and take many months to complete. And the Corps can’t even promise that the environmental assessment would be modified.

In exploring an alternative approach, Willson said that it would cost an estimated $122,000 and take about a year to do vibracore sampling and obtain permits for the Miss Katie, not including submerged aquatic vegetation or shellfish surveys that may be required, which could increase total costs to about $150,000. Typically, the state would pay 75% of the cost of the assessment, with the county picking up the remainder.

The commission unanimously approved a motion requesting the Dare County Board of Commissioners to pursue permitting the Miss Katie to maintain the emergency ferry channel.

Commission administrator Barton Grover said that the county would seek to permit hopper and pipeline dredging, as well as bucket-and-barge, so all bases would be covered.

“The good will” the community would feel knowing that the channel was accessible, Waterways Commission Chair Steve “Creature” Coulter noted, “is worth every penny.”

Catherine “Cat” Peele, with the N.C. Department of Transportation Ferry Division, told commissioners in an earlier remote discussion during the meeting that recent test runs in the channel showed that it remains navigable, with about 6 feet of water still on the Rodanthe end where the shoaling had been an issue. Last September, Dare County paid about $100,000 to have a bucket-and-barge remove about 600 cubic yards of sand from a small area in the basin.

The Ferry Division is planning to dredge its portion of the channel in Stumpy Point in November, she added. The Corps is responsible for dredging the remainder of the channel, which was created in 2009 to provide emergency access to and from Hatteras Island when N.C. Highway 12 becomes impassable.

Also, Willson discussed a recommendation for the commission to consider extending the area for a planned cultural resource survey that is required as part of the recently approved EA that included the Hatteras Inlet bar.

The original box to be surveyed was slated to cost $87,000, he said. An extension to the east would tack on another $27,000. But then a northwest segment on the west side of that buffer is continuing to slowly migrate to the north, he added, so it would probably be worth surveying another 1,000 feet to the north, which would add one more day of work.

The thinking is that it’s cheaper to look ahead to make sure that the area that may be dredged is already covered by the cultural survey, Grover explained in a later interview.

“While they’re already there doing cultural resource surveys at the bar, we’re going to go ahead and get the Connector Channel surveyed,” he said. “Because, like Ken said, it’s a lot of mobilization costs … But once you have that contractor up here, it’s only an extra $10- $20,000 for them to do additional areas, whereas if you’re going to bring them up just for that one additional area would be like $50,000. So that’s why we’re thinking ‘Okay, while we’re up here, where do y’all think the channel may move in the future?’”

Grover said the board of commissioners will also be asked at its August meeting to approve the extended survey work.

In another matter, a question was resolved about whether it was a waste of time to include Barney Slough South in the Rollinson Channel and Silver Lake maintenance dredging project the Corps is planning for the fall. Other channels included in the project were Sloop North, the Hatteras Ferry Channel, and the Hatteras Connecting Channel. Last month, Coulter pointed out to Ronnie Smith with the Corps that the ferries don’t use Barney or the Ferry channels.

Peele, with the Ferry Division, reiterated to the Waterway Commission that the Ferry Division considers that Barney Slough was not worth dredging, and had communicated that in a recent meeting with the Corps.

“We told them even if you clean it out, it’s going to fill right in,” Peele said.

But after Monday’s meeting, Grover said that the Corps informed him that it has decided it will not dredge Barney Slough or the Hatteras Ferry Channel after all. Instead, in addition to Sloop Channel North, they will dredge the Hatteras Connecting Channel and Rollinson Channel.

“They are reconfiguring their proposed channels to be dredged,” Grover said, adding that the Corps will now maintain the route that the Ferry Division had requested.  “And that is the one that vehicular ferries have been using for several months now. That’s the one the passenger ferry always has used.

“So that’ll be good for the Ferry Division. And it’s good for the charter fishing fleet, because there is some shoaling when you leave the breakwater.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review partners with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

State transportation officials announced Thursday that all roads damaged by a storm in southeastern North Carolina last year are open to drivers.

North Carolina Department of Transportation and local officials gathered this week to celebrate the reopening of the bridge over Prices Creek on East Moore Street in Southport.

The bridge officially opened to drivers Thursday afternoon.

NCDOT officials said this project was the last of 44 damaged sites in the southern coastal region to reopen after an unnamed storm with tropical cyclone characteristics brought historic rainfall and flooding on Sept. 16, 2024.

Major southeastern North Carolina routes, including N.C. Highway 211 and U.S. Highway 17, were damaged during the storm. State crews worked to restore critical routes to the area in the immediate aftermath of the storm, officials said.

The Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District has awarded a multimillion-dollar dredge contract to clear shoaling from sections of the Wilmington Harbor.

The Corps last week signed off a $17.12 million contract with Norfolk Dredging Co. to maintain the authorized depth of the harbor’s anchorage basin and mid-river area. The work, which is anticipated to begin sometime later this year, is part of the Corps’ routine harbor maintenance.

“This dredging project will ensure safe and efficient passage for commercial vessels, supporting jobs and commerce throughout the Cape Fear region and beyond,” according to a release. “Regular dredging is essential to remove accumulated sediment, which can impede vessel traffic and limit cargo capacity, thus impacting the Port of Wilmington’s operations and its critical role in the supply chain.”

Norfolk Dredging has been contracted to clear more than 1.8 million cubic yards from the harbor, including 1.15 million cubic yards from the anchorage basin and 730,000 cubic yards from the mid-river reaches, said Jed Cayton, the district’s public affairs specialist, in an email.

The dredged material, most of which is not beach-compatible, will be placed offshore at a permitted disposal site, he said.

Norfolk Dredging is also expected to remove an estimated 1.3 million cubic yards of material from the harbor’s inner ocean bar later this year. The material through this area of the harbor is deemed beach-compatible and is to be placed on Oak Island and Caswell Beach’s ocean shorelines. The project must be completed between mid-November and April 30, 2026.

Later this month, the Corps will open bids for dredging in the harbor’s outer ocean bar, where an estimated 1 million cubic yards of material is expected to be removed between Dec. 1 and April 15, 2026.

Featured Image

A wall of sandbags extends along the roadside far into the distance aside N.C. Highway 12 on the north end of Ocracoke Island. This is where washouts and erosion from storm surge repeatedly chew away at the barrier island beach and roadway, part of the normal ocean dynamics that humans often try to control. Photo: Dylan Ray

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is temporarily suspending the Currituck-Knotts Island ferry route over the next several days while the fender systems at both terminals are replaced and repaired.

The route is to resume service the weekend of June 28-29. Service is scheduled to fully resume July 3, the state agency’s Ferry Division announced Wednesday.

The fender system includes the rubber materials installed on terminal pilings to protect boats and pilings while vessels are docking.

For real-time text or email updates on weather or mechanical delays, sign up for the Ferry Information Notification System at www.ncdot.gov/fins. 

An Onslow County road is scheduled to close to traffic next week while crews conduct maintenance.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced Friday that crews will close a portion of Belgrade-Swansboro Road near Riggs Road south of Maysville at 8 a.m. Monday. The road will reopen by 5 p.m. June 20, weather permitting, officials said.

The work is to replace a crossline pipe.

During the closure, motorists are advised to take Riggs Road, Deppe Road, U.S. Highway 17, Spring Hill Road, Hadley Collins Road, and Belgrade-Swansboro Road.

Drivers should remain alert, use caution, and reduce speed in the work zone, officials said.

Craven County Farm Life School in Vanceboro, the first farm life school in the state, is being commemorated with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker.

A ceremony is planned for 4 p.m. Thursday to dedicate the marker, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 17 and Farm Life Avenue in Vanceboro.

The North Carolina General Assembly in 1911 authorized an appropriation to build farm life schools, which were required to offer a standard high school education in addition to classes and practical experience in vocational agriculture and home economics, according to the state.

If a local governmental unit provided facilities, including dormitories for boys and girls, for $25,000 and then pledged $2,500 for operating expenses each year, the state would match the latter amount. By 1916, 21 farm life schools were in operation, with the first being the Vanceboro facility that opened Nov. 4, 1913.

Students within walking or horse-riding distances paid no tuition, but students staying in the dorms paid $12.50 a month. The boys cut wood for fires, and the girls cooked and waited tables. Crop rotation, contour plowing, selection of nutritious foods, and improved homemaking practices were emphasized along with the academic curriculum. 

The Highway Historical Marker Program is a collaboration between the state departments of Natural and Cultural Resources and Transportation. 

After a delay, the two vehicle ferry routes that cross Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke are now operating on the previously announced summer schedule.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division announced earlier this week the increase in trips for the Cedar Island-Ocracoke ferry and the Swan Quarter-Ocracoke ferry.

NCDOT in May alerted travelers that moving to the expanded schedule as planned on May 20 had been postponed while Army Corps of Engineers dredged Bigfoot Slough, the ferry channel near the village’s Silver Lake Harbor.

On Tuesday, ferries on the two routes began adhering to the following schedule:

• Cedar Island-Ocracoke: 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
• Ocracoke-Cedar Island: 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
• Swan Quarter-Ocracoke: 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
• Ocracoke-Swan Quarter: 7 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.

During the busy season, officials strongly recommend reservations, which can be made online at www.ncferry.org, or on the phone at 1-800-BY-FERRY.

The village is only accessible by boat or private airplane.

There are two ways to reach Ocracoke from Hatteras: the Ocracoke Express passenger ferry or the Hatteras-Ocracoke vehicle ferry. The express ferry takes reservations, the Hatteras vehicle ferry does not.

For real-time text or email updates on weather or mechanical delays, sign up for the Ferry Information Notification System at www.ncdot.gov/fins. 

North Carolina Turnpike Authority officials plan to install traffic counting devices along a section of U.S. 158, the only highway crossing the Currituck Sound, as part of the Mid-Currituck Bridge Project.

Crews were expected to begin installation at 9 a.m. Wednesday on the overhead sign on U.S. 158 near the Duck Woods Drive intersection in Kitty Hawk.

“The purpose of these devices is to gather traffic data on the number of vehicles entering the Outer Banks that are currently equipped with toll payment transponders,” officials said. “This information will be used for the authority traffic and usage forecast models, which will help in planning and managing transportation needs.”

Lanes will be closed on U.S. 158 near Duck Woods Drive one at a time while the traffic devices are installed. The work is expected to be complete by Thursday morning but is subject to change and weather dependent.

Motorists traveling during the installation are advised to be aware of the single-lane closures, exercise caution and expect potential minor delays.

To alleviate congestion, transportation officials are developing the mid-Currituck Bridge Project.

The 7-mile toll project includes a two-lane bridge spanning the Currituck Sound that connects the Currituck County mainland to the Outer Banks. The project also includes a second two-lane bridge that spans Maple Swamp on the Currituck County mainland, connecting Aydlett to U.S. 158, the North Carolina Department of Transportation website states.

More than 1 million cubic yards of sand will be injected onto ocean shores on Oak Island in conjunction with routine maintenance dredging of the Wilmington Harbor.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District announced Monday it has awarded an $18.6 million contract to Norfolk Dredging Co. of Chesapeake, Virginia, to clean out an estimated 1.3 million cubic yards of sand from the Wilmington Harbor Inner Ocean Bar.

The beach-compatible material will be placed on the beaches of the town of Oak Island and Caswell Beach some time during the environmental window, which runs from mid-November through April 30, according to a Corps’ release.

“This dredging project will ensure safe and efficient passage for commercial vessels while also providing the valuable benefit of beach nourishment for Oak Island,” the release states. “Maintenance dredging is a necessary process to remove accumulated sediment from the Inner Ocean Bar, ensuring the harbor maintains its authorized depth. The USACE Wilmington District remains dedicated to its mission of maintaining the nation’s waterways and supporting the economic vitality of the region through projects like this.”

The William B. Umstead Bridge in Dare County, locally known as the Old Manns Harbor Bridge, is set to reopen to traffic before the end of the day Friday.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation said Thursday that single-lane closures will be in place 24 hours a day while work continues on the $33 million preservation project for the 70-year-old bridge.

Motorists should expect brief delays on the bridge during the lane closures, which will be continuously controlled by portable traffic signals.

Drivers traveling between Manns Harbor and Roanoke Island can use the Virginia Dare Bridge as an alternate route.

The bridge preservation project is expected to be complete at the end of 2026.

A temporary traffic pattern is going to be put in place over the weekend for a section of U.S. Highway 70 in James City ahead of road work that will close the highway’s median to travelers.

Intersections along U.S. 70 in the city bordering New Bern are being converted to interchanges without traffic signals to improve traffic flow and reduce travel times. Constructing the bridge that crosses the highway is the final stage before the interchange is complete and is set to begin for the first of five, North Carolina Department of Transportation officials said Wednesday.

Travelers starting at 7 p.m. Friday can expect a series of U.S. 70 lane closures to shift both eastbound and westbound traffic near Grantham Road to newly widened portions of the highway and interchange ramps.

Officials expect the temporary traffic pattern to be fully implemented by 6 a.m. Monday and will remain in place during bridge construction. In the event of weather delays, all work will take place the following week.

While the new traffic pattern is being set up this weekend, Grantham Road on both sides of U.S. 70 will be closed between the highway and roundabouts. During this time there will be signed detour routes to access Grantham Road.

Reduced conflict intersections with temporary traffic signals are to be installed near the Grantham Road intersection with U.S. 70 to facilitate traffic flow. These intersections will allow drivers to make U-turns on the highway and access side streets while the median crossover at Grantham Road is closed during bridge construction, officials said.

The project team is available to answer questions. Send an email to US70-JamesCity@publicinput.com or call 855-925-2801 and enter code 7872 when prompted. The public may also visit the new site office at 118B Market St., New Bern.

Motorists will see lower speed limits this week along sections of N.C. Highway 12 in parts of Currituck and Dare counties.

It’s a move to improve safety during peak travel season.

North Carolina Department of Transportation crews have been reducing speed limits on several sections of N.C. 12. The speed limits in areas through Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Corolla and Frisco will be lowered to 35 mph on Thursday from the off-season speed limit of 45 mph.

Seasonal speed limit reductions will return in areas of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, such as the area near the Haulover Parking Lot south of Avon, as well.

Off-season speed limits will return on Sept. 15.

Pamlico Sound ferry routes linking the two mainland terminals and Ocracoke Village will remain on its spring schedule of six daily departures until a dredging project planned for the end of this month is complete.

North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division officials said Tuesday that the Army Corps of Engineers had scheduled the emergency project because of shoaling in the Bigfoot Slough ferry channel near the village’s Silver Lake Harbor.

“Our boats are ready, our crews are ready, but the Bigfoot Slough channel is too shallow and narrow to operate our largest ferries safely there right now,” Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon said in a release.

The Corps is responsible for maintaining the channel and has scheduled the emergency dredging project to begin in late May. Weather permitting, the project is expected to take about a week to complete, according to NCDOT.

Once the channel is considered safe, both the Cedar Island-Ocracoke and Swan Quarter-Ocracoke routes will expand from their spring schedules of six daily departures to their summer schedules of eight daily departures.

Officials had initially planned to adopt the expanded summer schedules May 20.

For real-time text or email updates on weather or mechanical delays, sign up for the Ferry Information Notification System at www.ncdot.gov/fins. 

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ocracoke Express passenger ferry is scheduled next week to launch its seventh season.

Beginning Tuesday, the 129-passenger Ocracoke Express Ferry will carry passengers between Ocracoke’s Silver Lake Harbor and Hatteras. The ferry ride across Pamlico Sound takes about 70 minutes. Officials said the service will stop Sept. 15.

“Passenger surveys have shown us that the Express is an extremely popular option for day trips to Ocracoke,” Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon said in a release Thursday. “It’s the easiest and most convenient way to spend a day on Ocracoke Island.”

For 2025, the passenger ferry is scheduled to make a total of eight departures a day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, which officials said are busier days. Trips from Hatteras are to leave at 8:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 1:45 p.m. and 5 p.m., and return trips from Ocracoke are at 9:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 3.p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Departures from Hatteras on Friday, Saturday and Sunday are scheduled for 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., with return trips from Ocracoke at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. No passenger ferry service will be available on Sundays.

Once on Ocracoke, visitors can walk, bike or use Hyde County’s free Ocracoke Village Tram to travel between businesses and other points of interest.

The fare is $15 for a round-trip ticket, with children under 3 riding for free, and an additional $1 to bring a bicycle on board.

Reservations are available 90 days in advance for the passenger verry and highly recommended during the busy summer season. Travelers can make reservations online at www.ncferry.org, or on the phone at 1-800-BY-FERRY.

The Hatteras-Ocracoke vehicle ferry route will continue running 52 scheduled departures at no charge everyday between Hatteras and the north end of Ocracoke Island. No reservations are accepted on the Hatteras vehicle ferry.

For real-time text or email updates on weather or mechanical delays, sign up for the Ferry Information Notification System at www.ncdot.gov/fins. 

North Carolina saw its 40 million-plus visitors in 2024 spend more than $36.7 billion on trips to and within the “Tar Heel State,” maintaining its rank of fifth most visited state and setting a spending record.

Coming in behind California, Florida, Texas and New York in domestic visitation, the state has been in tight competition with Pennsylvania and Tennessee for fifth place over the last four years. The previous spending record of $35.6 billion was set in 2023, according to Gov. Josh Stein’s office.

The governor made the announcement Wednesday, coinciding with National Travel and Tourism Week May 4-10. The press release notes that the state’s tourism economy remained strong despite Hurricane Helene, which caused untold destruction in the western part of the state in the fall of 2024.

“Today’s news underscores what we all know: North Carolina is a fantastic place to visit,” Stein said Wednesday in a statement. “As our mountain economies worked to recover from Helene, our Piedmont and coastal destinations remained popular and contributed to the growth of North Carolina’s tourism economy. We must continue to support tourism and small businesses in western North Carolina to help them come back stronger.”

The figures are preliminary findings from research commissioned by Visit North Carolina, part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, and conducted by Tourism Economics. The study can be found on the state tourism’s website, which links to archived reports dating back to 2005.

The state’s tourism-supported workforce increased 1.4% to 230,338 jobs in 2024.  Tourism payroll increased 2.6% to $9.5 billion. As a result of visitor spending, state and local governments saw rebounds in tax revenues to nearly $2.7 billion.   

“North Carolinians in all 100 counties benefit from the money that visitors spend. From our smallest towns to our largest cities, tourism means jobs for more than 50,000 small businesses and our first-in-talent workforce. These workers address travelers’ needs for transportation as well as lodging, dining, shopping, and recreation,” Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley said in the release.

The statistics published Wednesday report data from a statewide perspective. A supplemental report is expected to be released later in the year that will provide regional and local visitor data, offering a better perspective on Helene’s impact on western North Carolina’s tourism economy, officials explained.

The governor’s office provided the following numbers about the 2024 tourism industry:

• Total spending by domestic and international visitors reached $36.7 billion in 2024, a 3.1% increase over 2023 expenditures.   
• Domestic travelers spent a record $35.6 billion in 2024, up 2.7% from $34.6 billion in 2023.   
• The more than 900,000 international travelers spent $1.2 billion in 2024, up 16.5% from the previous year.   
• Visitors generated nearly $4.6 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2024, a 2.9% increase from 2023.   
• State tax receipts from visitor spending rose 1.1% to nearly $1.4 billion in 2024.   
• Local tax receipts grew 4.3% to nearly $1.3 billion.  
• Direct tourism employment in North Carolina increased 1.4% to 230,338.   
• Direct tourism payroll increased 2.6% to $9.5 billion.   
• Visitors spend more than $100 million per day in the state, adding $7.3 million daily to state and local tax revenues, about $3.7 million in state taxes and $3.6 million in local taxes.
• Each state household saved $593 on average in state and local taxes as a direct result of visitor spending in the state. Savings per capita averaged $241.  

Long-suspended seasonal ferry service from Hammocks Beach State Park to Bear Island will begin next week.

Ferry service will begin May 14, according to the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources’ Division of Parks and Recreation, after being suspended since April 2024 as a result of a major water and sewer construction project at Bear Island.

Reservations at the island’s primitive tent and group campsites are also opening on May 14.

Service will run on an hourly basis May 14-18 and again May 21-22. There will be no service May 19-20.

The ferry will run every 30 minutes beginning May 23 through Memorial Day. Then, beginning May 27, hourly service will be offered on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays and every 30 minutes Thursdays-Sundays and holidays, until Labor Day.

Service will start at 9:30 a.m. daily and end at 6 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend and 5 p.m. all other dates.

Round-trip tickets are $10 for adults ages 13-61, $5 for children ages 3-12, and seniors 62 and older. Tickets for children 2 and under are free.

A 2025 N.C. State Parks Annual Pass and a 2025 N.C. State Parks Annual Pass with four-wheel-drive beach access cover up to four ferry tickets daily.

Camping is $20 per night, including a $3 nonrefundable reservation fee, for tent sites and $50 for group camping. Campers must pay for one set of roundtrip tickets to use the ferry.

Campers who stay multiple nights have have purchased one set of roundtrip tickets are allowed one free ferry roundtrip ride per day during their stay.

Pets are prohibited on the ferry and collapsible-only carts or wagons are allowed.

The full ferry schedule is available at ncparks.gov/habe/ferry.

Former state Rep. Paul Tine begins his new role Tuesday as commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Tine, who owns Midgett Insurance Agency in Kitty Hawk, served two terms in the North Carolina House, representing Dare, Hyde and Washington counties and half of Beaufort County. First elected as a Democrat, Tine switched to unaffiliated in 2015 and caucused with Republicans in the legislature.

Gov. Josh Stein’s office announced the appointment Wednesday.

As a representative from 2013 through 2016, Tine served as co-chair of transportation appropriations and served on the joint transportation oversight committee. He also was on Elizabeth City State University’s board of trustees.

“I am very excited to begin work as the next Commissioner of North Carolina’s Division of Motor Vehicles,” Tine said in a release. “There is no shortage of challenges facing our division, and it is critical that we get to work quickly to reduce wait times, make our website more user friendly, and empower our frontline staff to ensure the highest level of service to our citizens.”

“As a long-time business owner and a former member of the General Assembly, Paul knows how to get things done and move at the speed of business,” Stein said in a statement. “He is the right person for this job, and I have charged him with urgently identifying ways to make the DMV work better for North Carolinians.”

The governor’s proposed budget includes funding for 61 new driver license examiners to ensure every workstation is filled and 24 new positions to staff new and expanded driver license offices.

“Tine will work to improve North Carolinians’ experience with the DMV by addressing wait times, staffing challenges, and customer satisfaction,” according to Stein’s office.

Transportation officials have scheduled two public meetings in May to discuss a proposed study on the future of the Ocracoke-South Dock terminal, which currently serves as the southern terminus for the Hatteras-Ocracoke vehicle ferry route.

The meetings are to take place 5-7 p.m. May 21 in the Hatteras Civic Center and 5-7 p.m. May 22 at the Ocracoke Community Center.

North Carolina Department of Transportation representatives and project team members will be on hand to answer questions and receive comments regarding the proposed study that will look at the feasibility of rehabilitating or relocating the facility, which has been impacted by ocean encroachment and road closures in recent years.

Design concepts will focus on traffic flow, construction challenges and multiple types of transportation. The study will also assess the need for new infrastructure, channel dredging, potential breakwater impacts and other navigational factors.

All comments received will be reviewed and discussed by the project team and taken into consideration as the project develops.

For project details and maps, visit the public input at https://publicinput.com/southdock. Officials said the website will be updated as more information becomes available.

Comments may be submitted at the public meeting or online until June 6 by emailing southdock@publicinput.com or by calling 855-925-2801, code 11113 to leave a voicemail message.

Contact Sunil Singh at 919-707-6087 or scsingh@ncdot.gov for auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Call 800-481-6494 to request interpretive services.

Reconstruction of a bridge that is part of a crucial hurricane evacuation route in Brunswick County has been completed and earlier than anticipated.

The new bridge now spanning the Calabash River opened to traffic Thursday, according to the North Carolina Department Transportation.

Taller and longer than the original bridge built in 1975, the new bridge on Beach Drive SW was temporarily closed through several coastal storms, some of which prompted emergency repairs and additional maintenance.

“This is a critical route for our beach communities, which have endured a detour while the bridge was being constructed to modern standards,” NCDOT Division 3 Engineer Trevor Carroll said in a news release. “Because making our infrastructure more resilient against future flooding is a goal for our Department, it was important to design and build a new bridge that will better serve and protect this fast-growing area of the county.”

The two-lane bridge is designed to improve the flow of hurricane evacuation traffic, according to NCDOT. It is wider, rises about seven feet higher over the river, and is more than twice as long as the old bridge. A new, multi-use path runs alongside the new bridge to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians.

Construction on the more than $9 million project began in the summer of 2023. The bridge has been closed since around Labor Day of that year.

NCDOT agreed to a $750,000 incentive to Wilmington-based contractor S&C Construction LLC to finish the new bridge by May 1 as tourism season approaches and a month before the 2025 hurricane season kicks off.

Leaders from Holly Ridge, Surf City, North Topsail Beach, Topsail Beach, a state transportation official and a legislative representative have been invited to speak during the Greater Topsail Community Update set to take place in May.

The Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 13, at the Holly Ridge Community Center, 404 Sound Road.

A breakfast buffet will be served while speakers share firsthand updates on upcoming initiatives, including capital improvement projects and other key developments.

“This informative gathering is an excellent opportunity for residents, business owners, and stakeholders to stay informed and engaged with the progress of our local communities,” organizers said.

Cost is $20 per person. Register online or at topsailchamber.org.

State transportation officials next week are increasing ferry runs between Hatteras and Ocracoke to the full summer schedule.

North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division announced plans to bump up daily departures from 36 to 52 starting Tuesday through Nov. 3.

The division released the following schedule:

From Hatteras: 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m., 11 p.m., and midnight.

From Ocracoke: 4:30 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., noon, 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m., and midnight.

For real-time text or email notifications on schedule adjustments and other ferry information, sign up for the Ferry Information Notification System at www.ncdot.gov/fins. 

North Carolina’s roads are about to get a spring cleaning and state transportation officials say it’s not just the pollen getting swept away.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Spring Litter Sweep kicks off Saturday and runs through April 26. This biannual cleanup event invites residents across the state to bag litter and beautify roadsides, all while helping protect North Carolina’s natural charm.

Every spring and fall, the Litter Sweep rallies volunteers to roll up their sleeves, grab some gloves, and remove roadside trash.

“We’re excited to see volunteers out there starting Saturday and throughout the entire sweep,” said Jeremy Goodwin, NCDOT’s roadside environmental engineer, in a news release. “Their hard work ensures our roadsides stay clean and welcoming for everyone. Every bag of litter picked up is a win for our state. These folks aren’t just cleaning up, they’re showing pride in their communities and making North Carolina safer and more beautiful for everyone.”

NCDOT maintenance crews will also be doing their part, collecting litter and hauling away filled bags, officials said.

Volunteers can request free cleanup supplies, including gloves, safety vests and trash bags, from their local NCDOT county maintenance office.

Joining the Litter Sweep is easy, officials said. Just bring a good attitude, a love for clean communities and a strong dislike for roadside clutter.

Officials asked volunteers to share their cleanup efforts on social media using the hashtag #LitterSweepNC.

DUCK — Fifty years after the need for a bridge between mainland Currituck County and its barrier island beaches was first identified, and 30 years after a draft planning document for the proposed mid-Currituck bridge was first released, a recent public meeting revealed that the same issues are still being vigorously debated, costs have skyrocketed, and funding is still lacking.

Even with the green light in 2019 to finally begin the permitting process, the project continues to face considerable hurdles, including stark disagreement in the communities the bridge would connect.

Attendees at a recent hearing in Duck told state officials the bridge was needed to relieve the bumper-to-bumper traffic that clogs the only thoroughfare to the Currituck Outer Banks.

“Residents are literally trapped in their homes,” a woman from Southern Shores, a northern Dare County town, told state officials during the March 18 hearing held by the state Division of Coastal Management. “This is not just an annoyance. This is a safety risk. Getting people evacuated would be virtually impossible.”

The bridge project has received wide support from Dare and Currituck counties and most Dare towns.

But those who live in Currituck County communities on either side of the bridge — Corolla and Carova at the beach and Aydlett on the mainland — lamented the impacts of even more traffic on their neighborhoods’ infrastructure, environment and quality of life.

“Yes, we have a traffic problem,” commented Corolla resident Barbara Marzetti, a co-founder of the citizens group No Mid-Currituck Bridge, or NoMC, during the Duck meeting.

The bridge would make the situation worse, she added. If the bridge is built, the people will come. And then more people will come.

“It’ll bring more development,” Marzetti said. “Right now, we have an environmental disaster with the water and septic issues.”

Marzetti, who is also president of the Corolla Civic Association, said North Carolina’s northernmost barrier island communities can’t take “dumping all those people here.”

“We’re already overtaxed in terms of infrastructure here,” she told Coastal Review in a later interview. “There will be day trippers up the gazoo.”

Another public hearing on the proposal has been scheduled for 5-7 p.m. April 16 at the Currituck Extension Center, 120 Community Way in Barco, on the mainland side.

Although folks on the mainland are also worried about increased traffic, the Currituck Outer Banks is a more fragile environment that is home to a national wildlife refuge and wild mustangs. Even though the northern Outer Banks are less exposed than the southern communities on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, the area is still vulnerable to intense tropical weather and coastal storms.

According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the proposed bridge is needed to provide an additional hurricane evacuation route to meet the state standards of 18 hours to evacuate an area. Once built, the bridge would offer a 40-mile shortcut to travelers, saving as much as two hours one-way during peak tourism months.

In 2022, the Currituck County Department of Travel and Tourism estimated that 500,000 travelers visited the county during the 10-week peak summer travel season each year. It would be a good bet that nearly all are heading to the Outer Banks, where they’ll end up on N.C. Highway 12 — also called Duck Road along this stretch — and likely stuck in gridlock.

NCDOT data shows the average summer weekend traffic in 2017 on two-lane N.C. 12 in Southern Shores was 22,236 vehicles. More recent DOT traffic counts were not readily available.

The proposed project includes a 4.66-mile-long bridge across Currituck Sound and a 1.5-mile-long bridge across Maple Swamp on the mainland side in Aydlett, about 25 miles south of the Virginia state line. On the Outer Banks side, the bridge would tie-in at Corolla, a popular upscale resort community renowned for its shopping, big houses, wide beaches and charming historic village. Just to its north, 11 miles of unpaved sand roads wind through the tiny community of Carova, where the wild mustangs famously roam free.

Currituck County records show 57 applications in Carova for new single-family dwellings since January 2015.

Although Currituck County Planning Director Bill Newns said he didn’t have the exact percentage of buildout in the completely off-road beach community, there were originally thousands of large lots, but there had been no new real subdivisions.

“Pretty much, it’s all been platted out … some of that stuff goes back to the ’90s, ’80s, and before then,  that were already platted out,” he told Coastal Review.

“Typically, all those roads are private,” Newns said, “The county doesn’t have control of them.”

Longtime Carova resident Jay Laughmiller, who owns a water-treatment business and is also the volunteer fire chief, said he has seen firsthand the wear and tear on the community from the thousands of summer visitors. He fears that the “already controlled chaos” would be exacerbated by the bridge.

“It would not be good for the area,” he told Coastal Review. “Yes, it would grow the economy, because it would bring more people here. But the infrastructure itself can’t handle too much more.”

In the last decade or so, Currituck County has successfully marketed tourism by featuring captivating photographs of the horses frolicking on Carova’s wide-open beaches. Consequently, wild horse tours are one of the most popular attractions for visitors. Tourists and property owners are also allowed to drive on beach corridors and the unpaved roads, which has inevitably created conflicts and hazards for both horses and people.

With Carova’s beaches becoming parking lots every summer, the county in recent years instituted a permit system to control the beach traffic.

Impacts from the crowds are seen not just in rutted roads or damaged dunes; the volume and intensity of such growth is overwhelming the environmental balance.

Unlike neighboring Corolla, Carova has no stores, restaurants, public water, visitor facilities or wastewater systems. But it does have numerous single-family homes, most small and modest but with a few of 20 or more bedrooms.

Laughmiller said that septic systems and water from private wells, both subject to state regulations, are increasingly being compromised. Local rules allow placement of wells on a site to be determined after, rather than before, the house and septic, he said. Although septic must be at least 50 feet from the well, he said, leaving the well selection last can limit the quality of the well water.

“There’s no aquifers  there — it’s all groundwater,” Laughmiller said.

Sometimes the water is too salty or has high levels of arsenic, iron, tannin or other unwanted stuff, or is stinky from sulfides, Laughmiller said.  But current regulations, he said, look only at certain levels of bacteria before permitting a well.

Climate change effects such as rain deluges and drought, as well as increased impermeable surface coverage resulting from development, make it harder to cope with the challenges. Already, floodwater has to be pumped off the roads after big storms. Without improvements, Laughmiller said, problems with septic intrusions into well water “is only going to worsen.”

Currituck Sound is also vulnerable to climate impacts.

Julie Youngman, attorney for the nonprofit Southern Environmental Law Center, speaking at the Duck hearing, said the proposed bridge location crosses environmentally sensitive areas.

“I tell you, the ends of the bridge are going to be under water because of sea level rise before they find the money to pay for it,” she said.

The law center has represented the No Mid-Currituck Bridge group in an unsuccessful federal lawsuit challenging the bridge construction. The court ruled last year that the NCDOT had followed the law in issuing its 2019 record of decision, but the legal group is keeping its eye on the project during the permitting process.

In 2012, the project was estimated to cost $660 million, and somehow went down to $489 million in 2018, then to as low as $440 million, until soaring up to its current estimate of $1 billion.

Private-public partnerships, managed by the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, part of the state Department of Transportation that manages toll roads, have been on, then off, then on again, with unconfirmed speculation that a proposed toll would be about $50 round trip.

Youngman, who noted that her family had long vacationed on the northern Outer Banks, said that there are other less expensive and less environmentally damaging alternatives that NCDOT has not pursued, including construction of a flyway at the intersection of the U.S. Highway 158 Bypass and N.C. 12 in Southern Shores.

Logen Hodges, director of marketing and communications at the North Carolina Turnpike Authority, said the latest finance plan had not been finalized, but it is likely to include federal and state funds and toll-backed debt.

After applying for a competitive $425 million federal grant to fund some bridge costs, the agency was informed last October that it was not chosen for the award.

“The team is still evaluating all potential funding sources to deliver the project,” he responded in an email. “The toll revenue projections will be updated over the course of the next year with updated traffic and revenue forecasts. That analysis would also inform potential toll rates. Actual toll rates would not be set until much closer to the project opening.”

Comparative analysis is ongoing to evaluate whether to deliver the project as a “a traditional toll project,” or as a public-private-partnership toll project, he said.

The Albemarle Rural Planning Organization in August 2024 gave its approval to the Turnpike Authority and NCDOT to continue development of a potential private-public partnership, which was initially authorized only from 2009 to 2014.

In addition to a Coastal Area Management Act, or CAMA, permit, various other permits are required, including from the state Division of Water Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard.

“We will be in a better position to provide an updated project schedule after all environmental permits are received,” Hodges wrote. He added that all right of way parcels have not yet been purchased.

Newns, Currituck’s planning director, said the county has not yet done a detailed plan to address the projected boom in growth if the bridge is actually built. And after hearing talk about it since the 1980s, he wasn’t going to speculate on the chances of construction.

“I don’t have an idea, because every time you think you’re a little closer to it, it takes a step back,” Newns said. “So yeah, I couldn’t honestly answer that question.”

Residents and visitors to Wrightsville Beach can expect next week lane closures of the drawbridge connecting the New Hanover County island.

Starting Monday, North Carolina Department of Transportation crews plan to conduct routine maintenance on the four-lane bridge that spans Banks Channel.

Lanes are scheduled to be closed between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday, April 11.

Crews will close the outside lane of the bridge leading to the island. Drivers are advised to slow down and be on alert for workers and equipment on the bridge.

Crews will be fixing concrete spalling, or normal wear that “causes tiny pieces of concrete to flake off,” and touching up work to the side of and underneath the bridge, according to a NCDOT release.

The lane closure is expected to last for a couple of days, depending on the maintenance needed along that side of the bridge. Crews will then switch to the opposite outside lane that leads from the island to the mainland.

Earlier this year, DOT announced preliminary plans to replace the drawbridge on Causeway Drive as well as bridges on West Salisbury Street that cross Less Cut and Banks Channel. The project includes removing the existing bridges and replacing them in roughly the same location.

Each bridge will include 10 to 12 feet wide multiuse paths and 6 feet wide bike lanes.

Details are available at NCDOT’s project webpage.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation said Friday that its contractor plans to start construction next week to improve the five-lane section of U.S. Highway 64 between the Melvin R. Daniels Bridge, also known as the “Little Bridge,” and the Washington Baum Bridge, both in Dare County.

Raleigh-based Fred Smith Co. is to begin the project, a milling and resurfacing operation, April 2 between the two bridges in order to allow another crew to complete its ongoing work to bore an emergency waterline adjacent to the Washington Baum Bridge. During this phase, the transportation contractor also plans to resurface the access parking lot for the Daniels bridge. Work is scheduled for completion by April 14, officials said.

Once complete, the contractor will demobilize to perform work for the town of Kill Devil Hills and allow Dare County’s boring contractor time to complete the waterline project.

The Fred Smith crews will then return and finish the remaining five-lane section of U.S. 64 from the Washington Baum Bridge to the Virginia Dare Bridge before May 9 when work is expected to be completed, officials said. The work schedules are weather-dependent. 

The upcoming work is part of ongoing project to improve several areas of U.S. 64 and nearby Dare County roads and bridges. The company was awarded the $2.4 million contract in September 2024.

Motorists should be alert to new traffic patterns in the area, slow down and drive with caution through the work zone.

The state Division of Coastal Management is hosting another public hearing on a permit application for the proposed mid-Currituck bridge project.

The focus of the April 16 hearing will be Coastal Area Management Act, or CAMA, permit application completed in early January by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and North Carolina Turnpike Authority.

The proposed bridge would span the Currituck Sound from Aydlett to south of Corolla. The project also includes improvements to existing roadways in Currituck and Dare Counties.

A previous public hearing on the project was held March 18 in Dare County.

The April 16 hearing will be held 5-7 p.m. at the Currituck Extension Center, 120 Community Way, Barco.

Speaker registration opens at 4 p.m. Speaker time may be limited depending on the number of registered speakers.

The public comment period on the proposed project has been extended to April 30.

Comments may be mailed to Tancred Miller, Director, Division of Coastal Management, 400 Commerce Avenue, Morehead City, NC 28557 or emailed with the subject line “Mid-Currituck CAMA application” to DCMcomments@deq.nc.gov.

The CAMA application may be view at the division’s Morehead City office, 400 Commerce Ave., during normal business hours or online.

Featured Image

A state Department of Transportation crew works high above the Newport River Tuesday inspecting the underside of the Morehead City-Beaufort high-rise bridge next to the state port. Traffic delays were expected through Friday on this part of U.S. Highway 70 as one lane of travel was planned during daylight hours, or 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Track progress online. Photo: Dylan Ray

With the beginning of spring, state transportation officials have added ferry runs between Ocracoke and the mainland terminals at Cedar Island and Swan Quarter.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division will increase the number of daily trips across Pamlico Sound from four to six, beginning this week.

The following is the schedule Tuesday through May 19:

• Ocracoke to Cedar Island: 7:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
• Cedar Island to Ocracoke: 7:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
• Ocracoke to Swan Quarter: 7 a.m., 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
• Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.

Reservations for Pamlico Sound ferry routes can be made up to 90 days in advance at ncferry.org or by calling 1-800-BY-FERRY.

For real-time text or email notifications on schedule adjustments and other ferry information, sign up for the Ferry Information Notification System at www.ncdot.gov/fins.

The cleanup of more than 7,000 tons of litter in North Carolina cost state agencies, local governments and nonprofits more than $56 million in 2023, according to a new report.

Those figures highlighted in “The Cost of Litter in North Carolina,” a 14-page report created through a collaboration of nonprofits and the Duke University Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, are just the tip of the trash pile.

“That’s a severe undercount,” said Rob Clark, Cape Fear River Watch Water Quality Programs manager and a coauthor of the report. “The issue is much, much worse than this report was able to convey.”

The figures included in the report were pulled together from information obtained through public records requests, informal requests, and budgets from the North Carolina Department of Transportation and 44 nonprofits. Of nearly 40 of the municipalities requested to provide information, 19 responded. There are more than 500 municipalities in the state.

Even on the low, low end, the pounds of litter and costs associated with removing it from roadsides, ditches, and creek and river banks, to name a few, conveys a narrative that North Carolina has a costly, statewide litter problem.

But the economic impacts of litter are only part of the story, one the report’s authors hope to place into the hands of state legislators.

That’s because the basic approach to addressing litter in the state — spending money to clean it up — is not efficient, Clark said.

“It doesn’t address the issue properly,” he said. “It addresses the byproduct of the litter issue, but not the sources. It’s like you’re Band-Aiding over an artery. It’s not efficient or sufficient.”

That’s why the report, which was also compiled by North Carolina Conservation Network, Haw River Assembly, and MountainTrue, includes recommendations aimed at reducing litter at the source, keeping it out of the environment, and saving tax dollars.

One of the report’s main recommendations, Clark said, is that the North Carolina General Assembly reinstate the ability of local governments to regulate auxiliary containers, specifically single-use plastics such as grocery bags, cups, bottles and other types of food packaging.

In a last-minute move, legislators injected into the 2023 state budget language that prohibits counties and cities from adopting rules, regulations, ordinances, or resolutions that restrict, tax, or charge fees on auxiliary containers.

The provision stopped locally elected officials in Asheville from moving ahead on a vote to ban single-use plastic bags and Styrofoam food containers.

“We were really close for that to come up to a vote here locally and then the General Assembly put that provision into the state budget,” said coauthor Anna Alsobrook, French Broad Riverkeeper and MountainTrue’s French Broad watershed science and policy manager.

The law also squashed local elected officials in Durham from deciding whether to require retailers tack on a 10-cent fee for each plastic bag given out to customers in restaurants, grocery stores and shops.

“It’s really unfortunate that the state legislature took away the right of local governments to regulate pollution in their own jurisdictions,” Alsobrook said. “We’re hoping to change that.”

North Carolina Sen. Julie Mayfield, D-Buncombe, and Durham Democrats Sen. Natalie Murdock and Sen. Sophia Chitlik, last month introduced a bill that would repeal limitations on auxiliary containers.

The same year legislators banned a ban on single-use plastics, a survey conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy showed that more than 80% of some 650-700 North Carolinians polled across the state supported regulations on single-use plastics, Alsobrook said.

The report found that the amount of single-use plastic litter – everything from cigarette butts, Styrofoam, bottles, bags, and food wrappers – picked up throughout the state has steadily climbed since the late 1960s.

In the ravages left in western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene, there is one rather ominous, tell-tale sign illustrating the abundance of single-use plastics in the environment.

“There’s a ton of devastation all over the place, but there’s tons and tons of plastic films and bags hanging from trees in any given direction,” Alsobrook said. “I think that was one of the most stark things we saw for a really long time. It’s very apocalyptic looking.”

And there is ongoing research about the potential human health effects of microplastics, which are considered ubiquitous in the environment because they have been found in every ecosystem on the planet.

Other recommendations in the report include the statewide implementation of a bottle deposit system where residents would receive a deposit for returning empty, single-use bottles, using the Clean Water Act in waters declared federally impaired as a result of litter pollution, and boosting funding the state transportation department’s litter cleanup efforts.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation “by far” carries the burden for litter cleanup in the state, the report concludes.

NCDOT spent more than $25 million of taxpayer funds to clean litter in 2023, according to the report. The department has spent about $270 million on litter cleanup over the past 15 years.

Recommendations included in the report are not new, “crazy ideas,” but rather policies that exist in other states and countries, Clark said.

“We’re just trying to take good policies and procedures that have worked in other places and implement them in our state,” he said. “Litter is, I think, viewed as an individual issue in our society. It’s seen as a failure of an individual, a litterbug. But really the reality of the situation is it’s a production issue, especially with plastic. There’s just so much production that we’re essentially drowning in it. We need to seriously address force reduction if we’re really going to get a handle on it.”

A public hearing on the Coastal Area Management Act application for the proposed mid-Currituck Bridge project is scheduled for next week.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management has set the hearing for 5-7 p.m. March 18 at Duck Town Hall, 1200 Duck Road.

The application was submitted to the division Jan. 7 by the N.C. Department of Transportation and N.C. Turnpike Authority. A copy of the application may be viewed at the division’s office at 400 Commerce Ave., Morehead City during normal business hours or online.

The proposed bridge would span over Currituck Sound from Aydlett to south of Corolla. The project includes roadway improvements in Currituck and Dare counties.

Speaker registration will open one hour before the March 18 hearing. Depending on the number of registered speakers, comments may be limited in time at the discretion of the hearing officer.

Written comments may be mailed to Tancred Miller, Director, Division of Coastal Management, 400 Commerce Avenue, Morehead City, NC 28557 or emailed with the subject line “Mid-Currituck CAMA application” to DCMcomments@deq.nc.gov.

The public comment period closes April 17.

The division said it will consider all comments when making its final permit decision, which, once made, will be provided upon written request.

Federal funds are available for federal, state and local government agencies, as well as qualified nonprofit organizations with a trail project in mind.

Applications are being accepted for grants ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 through the North Carolina Trails Program, and for up to $5,000 for funds through the trail program’s safety and education grant, the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation officials announced Thursday.

The Recreational Trails Program applications are due by 5 p.m. Sept. 5 through the WebGrants application. The spring safety and education grant applications are due by 5 p.m. April 11 through WebGrants as well.

“Recreational Trails Program Grants support all types of greenways and trails for hikers, bikers, paddlers, equestrians and off-road vehicle users,” according to the website.

The grants provides funding for construction of new trails, the maintenance and repair of existing trails, land acquisition, tool purchases, and planning, legal, environmental, and permitting costs. There is a 25% match requirement.

The safety and education grants are a subset of the program and are awarded for safety and education instructor fees, speaker fees, displays, signage, and other trail uses.

The division’s trails program manages the federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration.

The program’s regional trails specialists are available to assist prospective applicants with questions about the grant application process and requirements, and provide a technical review of applications for those submitted by Aug. 1.

WILMINGTON — A study of possible environmental impacts associated with the proposed Wilmington harbor-deepening project is expected to be released in the fall.

The draft environmental impact study examines different alternatives for the North Carolina State Ports Authority’s plan to make room for larger container ships to get to and from the Wilmington port.

The study’s projected release was the latest update U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District officials shared at a public meeting Thursday night.

Fewer than 10 people turned out for the meeting, which follows a series of meetings the Corps hosted last year that touched on topics ranging from how material dredged from the channel might be used to how the project might affect cultural resources along the Cape Fear River.

The ports authority wants to deepen the harbor from 42 to 47 feet, widen the channel in multiple areas and extend the ocean entrance to the river.

Authority officials say the changes are needed to accommodate larger container ships coming from Asia, which would keep the Wilmington port competitive with other East Coast ports.

The changes would accommodate large vessels that can carry 14,000, 20-by-8-foot shipping containers that have been traveling through the Panama Canal since its expansion in 2016.

But a host of concerns have been raised about the proposed project, with environmental experts and advocates arguing that deepening the channel could exacerbate saltwater intrusion through to the Northeast Cape Fear River and adjoining creeks, eradicate fish habitat, harm cultural resources, and disproportionately affect minority communities along the river.

The environmental study is exploring three possible alternatives, including dredging to a depth of 47 feet, which the ports authority prefers, dredging to a depth of 46 feet, or maintaining the current depth and width of the channel.

Once the draft study is published, the Corps will open a 45-day public comment period as part of the required process in creating the final document.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Wilmington District will be providing an update this month about the conditionally authorized project to deepen the Wilmington harbor.

The public engagements scheduled for Feb. 13 in Wilmington will be similar to one the Corps of Engineers hosted last summer, when the public got an opportunity to meet staff and discuss the North Carolina Ports Authority’s proposal to deepen the harbor from 42 feet to 47 feet. The plan also calls for widening the channel in multiple areas and extending the ocean entrance to the Cape Fear River.

The changes are needed to keep the Wilmington port, which is more than 25 miles upriver from the Atlantic Ocean, competitive with other East Coast ports by making room for larger container ships coming from Asia, ports authority officials say.

The changes would accommodate large vessels that can carry 14,000, 20-by-8-foot shipping containers that have been traveling through the Panama Canal since its expansion in 2016.

A public comment period on the project closed last July.

Residents of New Hanover and Brunswick counties and environmental groups have raised several concerns about the project’s potential impacts to fish habitat, cultural resources, minority communities along the river, and saltwater intrusion through to the Northeast Cape Fear River.

Once a draft environmental impact statement on the proposed project is released, the Corps will open a 45-day public comment period on that study.

The public review and comment period is expected to open late this year, with a final environmental impact statement projected to be released fall 2026.

The meeting will be held 7-8 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern North Carolina – Brigade Campus, 2759 Vance St., Wilmington.

Additional information about the project may be found online.

Less than two weeks after Inauguration Day, the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Blue Economy Index plummeted to almost 10% of its historical high.

President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, where on Day 1 he immediately began firing off a slew of executive orders unraveling those of his predecessor, clearly spooked investors of ocean-related economic activities.

But that’s not an atypical reaction when a newly seated president is certain to create upheaval in terms of policy changes, according to Dr. Miran Hossain, UNCW’s associate professor of finance.

Hossain doesn’t suspect it will last because, as he puts it, “you can’t deny the ocean.”

“Policy uncertainty does affect the market volatility,” Hossain said. “I totally believe that the underperformance that the index is showing, it’s definitely because of investors panicking and not knowing what’s going to happen for the next four years, at least in terms of the policies.”

The UNCW Blue Economy Index went live a year ago, debuting as a first-of-its kind benchmark that tracks companies that earn revenue through the use of ocean resources. This can be anything from cruise lines to offshore energy companies — oil, gas or wind — to container shipping, marine equipment and construction.

The index was developed in collaboration with the UNCW Cameron School of Business, UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, or CIE, and CIE’s Alliance for the Blue Economy.

The index, ticker: BLUEECO for those of you who check the Bloomberg terminals, specifically focuses on companies that use sustainable practices.

Last September, the index hit a historical high with better than 7% growth.

After screening thousands of companies from around the globe, the UNCW Blue Economy Index’s creators pared down the number to about 90. The index gauges how these companies are performing by combing their stock prices into a single number, which tracks their combined daily value.

The index essentially tells us about the health of blue economy, whether good or bad, and in which direction it’s going, Hossain explained.

“Why it’s going in a certain direction, that’s something to look at even more because it could be because of some policy. It could be because the companies are really not doing well because of some reason that we don’t know,” such as a company’s earnings, he said.

For that reason, it’s too early to conclude why the UNCW Blue Economy Index has been a low performer compared to some of the typical, larger indexes like the MSCI All World Index, S&P 500, and S&P 500 Industrials, since Trump’s election.

Yet there’s no doubt Trump’s second term is having an effect.

Hossain recently provided a snapshot of the index’s performance in pockets of time between Election Day and Trump’s first week back at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The S&P 500, which is a kind of measure of the overall U.S. economy, earned about a 4 to 4.5% gain during the week of Nov. 5, 2024. The MSCI All World Index, one that’s more representative of the university’s Blue Economy Index because it, too, includes the stocks of companies from around the world, had about a 2.3% gain.

UNCW’s Blue Economy Index’s performance that same week eked out at only about 1.5%, making it the worst performer of out of any of its comparable benchmarks.

“It’s just a short time period, I agree, but it is also good to just zoom in and see what happened during that period of time,” Hossain said.

Fast-forward to Trump’s first week back in office, where he signed dozens of executive orders impacting policy on everything from immigration and climate change to offshore energy, the Blue Economy Index showed a return of around 0.6%, compared to the other benchmarks, Hossain said.

“So, certainly not a good picture for the blue economy,” he said. “I’m expecting this policy shift is the major reason, but still not coming to a conclusion before looking deeper at these companies.”

This is where UNCW students enrolled in the Blue Economy Index course come in. They’re being tasked with analyzing and researching individual companies in the index to determine what’s been happening with them during the last two to three months.

Hossain was asked what advice he might have for blue economy investors.

“That’s a tough question,” he said.

The blue economy is not strictly clean energy-producing companies. It’s not purely green.

So the fact that sustainability isn’t expected to be promoted under the Trump administration will not have as much of an effect on the blue economy as, say, a solar company.

“We do need this huge marine transportation system,” Hossain said. “We do need the ports. If we look at in long-term perspective, you can’t deny the ocean. You can’t do business without keeping the ocean and the waterways in your equation. When these uncertainties ease up and we have a better idea about the tariff situation, where the Trump administration is going in that regard, I think we’ll have a better idea and the index would probably start going back to where it was.”

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division will begin recruiting new employees during the five career fairs the agency has planned.

The first is set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday in the Ocracoke Island Community Center, 999 Irvin Garrish Highway.

“With three of our seven routes serving Ocracoke Island, it is so important to have local employee representation,” Ferry Human Resources Manager Lori Sanderlin said Tuesday in a release. “The main purpose of this event is to give Ocracoke residents an opportunity to join our crew and be a vital part of their community and the state.”

The remaining career fairs are scheduled for Feb. 5 at Big Rock Career Center in Morehead City, Feb. 12 at College of the Albemarle in Manteo, Feb. 21 at Southport Ferry Terminal, and Feb. 26 at Beaufort County Community College in Washington.

Representatives will be on hand to accept applications, resumes, references and supporting documents for all positions. Examples include entry-level parking lot attendants, office staff, maintenance and credentialed vessel crew. Both temporary and full-time permanent positions are available.

Benefits of permanent employment include competitive salaries, training and credential/certification increases, health insurance, retirement benefits, and paid vacation, holiday and sick leave, according to NCDOT.

State transportation officials are asking permission to disturb wetlands in Currituck Sound associated with construction of the proposed mid-Currituck bridge project.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation and the North Carolina Turnpike Authority are proposing the 7-mile project to connect U.S. Route 158 on the mainland and N.C. Highway 12 near Corolla on the Outer Banks.

Work on the project to build the controlled-access toll road and two bridges is proposed to begin in June 2026 and is expected to disturb wetlands and submerged aquatic vegetation, according to the application.

NCDOT and the turnpike authority submitted to North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources in September 2024 the state 401 water quality certifications under the federal Clean Water Act.

The certification is required for federally permitted or licensed activities, including construction or operations of facilities that could result in a discharge to navigable waters.  

“The proposed project’s water quality impacts include fill material placed in and along the west bank of the Currituck Sound to stabilize the shoreline in the area of the bridge, as well as fill material in jurisdictional wetlands in Maple Swamp or Great Swamp,” the division said in a release.

The project is expected to permanently impact 1.21 acres of wetlands, more than 17 acres are expected to be temporarily disturbed, and there are predicted impacts to submerged aquatic vegetation, the division continued.

As part of the approval process, the division is holding a public comment period with a deadline of 5 p.m. March 31. A public hearing is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Currituck County Center in Barco.

The public can submit written comments until 5 p.m. Monday, March 31.

Comments may be sent by email to publiccomments@deq.nc.gov, with “Mid-Currituck Bridge” written in the subject line.

Comments submitted by mail should be addressed to Garcy Ward, Division of Water Resources, 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington, NC 27889.

NCDOT’s application and the public notice from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District are available online.

National Weather Service forecasters are expecting heavy snow and dangerously low temperatures along eastern North Carolina starting Tuesday evening and continuing into Wednesday morning.

With the coast expecting between 4 and 8 inches of snow, the possible effects have prompted a growing list of closures and cancellations for most coastal government offices from Currituck to Brunswick into Wednesday.

“High confidence remains that we will see an impactful snow storm starting after sunset tonight and lasting through early tomorrow morning. Blowing and drifting snow is expected, and brief blizzard conditions are also possible, especially along the Outer Banks,” meteorologists in the Newport office state in their final Tuesday briefing for the storm Tuesday afternoon.

Extremely cold weather is forecast to persist through Thursday, with morning lows in the teens and wind chills in the single digits. Highs Wednesday are unlikely to allow for a thaw, despite sunny skies. “Any snow that does melt during the daytime will refreeze into black ice at night, prolonging hazardous travel conditions for several days,” according to forecasters.

The National Weather Service Wilmington office Meteorologist-in-Charge Steven Pfaff said Tuesday to expect a recipe of snow and sleet, especially along coastal areas from near Southport to Georgetown, South Carolina.

Residents should consider the potential for heavier bands of snow that may lead to isolated higher accumulations overnight. The snow could keep falling along the coast until 5 to 8 a.m. Wednesday, Pfaff said.

In the Wilmington office’s final briefing around 4:30 p.m., forecasters said “Winter Storm Warnings are in effect everywhere, for 3-5 inches of snow over many areas with locally higher amounts.”

Warning Coordination Meteorologist Erik Heden, with the Newport office, noted during a late Tuesday morning briefing that this is not a typical winter weather storm, “where we see the snow, and then it’s melted and gone by afternoon. This will stick around for many days … because of the amount of snow, and also because the extreme cold temperatures, below freezing, especially at night.”

Heden said any snow that melts Wednesday will refreeze. “We’re into a stretch of cold weather that will just enhance the snow in terms of keeping it around on the ground for many days.”

Snow coupled with the wind will make traveling “quite treacherous,” because of poor visibility and slippery conditions on roadways. He added that the snow is to stop early Wednesday morning, but travel could remain hazardous for the remainder of the week, especially if the roads freeze over.

State transportation officials have a similar message. That residents should stay off the roads once the storm begins unless absolutely necessary.

“We’ve been out putting salt brine on roads since the weekend and are completing those operations to get ready for what Mother Nature brings,” said North Carolina Department of Transportation Chief Operating Officer Chris Peoples in a statement. “People should get any food and supplies they may need now so they don’t have to be on the roads later today, tonight or tomorrow morning unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

More than 800 transportation employees in eastern North Carolina have been pretreating roads and getting ready for the storm.

As of Tuesday afternoon, crews statewide had placed more than 1.7 million gallons of brine on roads. The saltwater solution lowers the freezing temperature of water to about 18 degrees, helping prevent ice from forming on pavement, according to NCDOT.

“During winter weather, just like in any severe weather situation in our state, our number one priority is keeping people safe,” Gov. Josh Stein said in a release. “Please continue to monitor local weather reports, keep off the roads if you can, and stay prepared for possible power outages.” 

Multiple warming stations are opening because of the cold temperatures. County emergency managers are to report warming stations that are opening in their communities on county websites, the governor’s office said late Tuesday.

Post updated with information from the governor’s office.

An animal conservation organization has created an online educational package designed to help students better understand how development affects habitat.

The North Carolina Wildlife Corridor released the curriculum packet this week that be downloaded from the website at no charge.

Curriculum documents include a lesson-planning checklist, PowerPoint presentation, comprehensive teacher’s guide, three separate building projects including step-by-step instructions with photos, and an award certificate for participating students.

Related: Future U.S. 64 wildlife crossings aim to spare red wolves

The curriculum focuses on habitat fragmentation and the species it affects, wildlife crossings and habitat connectivity, existing crossing structures and more.

Habitat fragmentation happens when an animal’s natural environment is broken up into isolated pieces by human activity, while habitat connectivity is the opposite, or when an animal can freely move between habitats.

“Last year, we had the opportunity to be in the classroom and in our communities teaching students, educators, families, conservationists and the general public about the plight of red wolves specific to habitat fragmentation. What we uncovered was a lack of education available to students and educators surrounding habitat connectivity,” the organization said on social media. “Our hope is that this curriculum will spark the hearts of the next generation to become involved in future habitat connectivity work.”

Designed for middle school students, the program can be modified to meet any age group’s learning level, organizers said.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation and Wildlife Resources Commission shared photos with the organization of existing wildlife crossing structures, organizers said.

RODANTHE – The North Carolina Department of Transportation is set to begin work Friday rebuilding dunes and placing sandbags on a severely erosion-threatened stretch of N.C. Highway 12 here.

Department officials are calling the $400,000 project on an 1,100-foot stretch of highway “a temporary solution to protect the highway from ocean overwash caused by extreme tides and storms.”

Officials said the project near the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge visitor center is meant to mitigate the type of overwash that caused the highway to be closed for a period in mid-November. They said it would also add a layer of protection for the road itself, helping to prevent the type of undermining that could damage the pavement and cause a long-term shutdown of the only roadway link between the mainland and Hatteras Island.

“We know this is only a temporary fix,” said N.C. Department of Transportation Division Engineer Win Bridgers. “But it’s vital for us to do everything we can to keep N.C. 12 open and accessible while we seek a more permanent solution.”

The sandbag project will take about a week to complete, with alternating single-lane closures in the area while the work is ongoing.

The Coastal Resources Commission in December approved a variance from Coastal Area Management Act development rules to allow the sandbag placement.

The November storm had washed away 1,000 feet of dune and exposed the highway’s pavement high surf. Roadway flooding and pavement drop-off produced hazardous traffic conditions, prompting the temporary road closure.

With this week’s award of a $450 million contract to a nationwide construction company, work can now begin on replacing the 65-year-old, swing-span bridge that crosses the Alligator River on U.S. Highway 64.

The concrete and steel span between Tyrrell and Dare counties is well beyond its intended lifespan, which is typically 50 years for bridges, tops, in terms of comforting federal transportation engineers. Coastal bridges in salt environments are often subject to some of the harshest conditions.

Federal officials set a goal nearly two decades ago for new bridges to be built to standards such that they last a century.

On Wednesday, the North Carolina Board of Transportation approved the contract with Skanska USA, which has an office in Durham, to replace the Lindsay C. Warren Bridge with a modern, two-lane fixed-span bridge.

Workers are expected to begin driving bridge pilings in the next several weeks, weather permitting, and begin other activities such as clearing, at the site of the new bridge just north of the existing structure.

“Under terms of the contract, the new bridge will open to traffic in the fall of 2029, with demolition of the current bridge to begin in the spring of 2030,” Department of Transportation officials said Wednesday.

The existing bridge was completed in 1960 and is the main route to access the Outer Banks from the west, and a critical hurricane evacuation route. The aging swing span is maintained regularly but is prone to occasional mechanical failures that force motorists onto a 99-mile detour.

“The new bridge will also improve river traffic, as more than 4,000 boats pass through the swing span each year,” officials said.

Some of the funding is through a $110 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021.