Main road on Outer Banks island finally back 3 months after Dorian. What took so long?
Three months after Hurricane Dorian, N.C. 12 is set to reopen on Ocracoke Island on Thursday, officials say.
The Category 1 storm made landfall on the island on Sept. 6 and destroyed the line of dunes between the highway and the ocean, according to a release from the North Carolina Department of Transportation. It also broke and buckled about 1,000 feet of the highway’s pavement.
Using a $1.77 million grant from the NCDOT, contractors began installing sandbags, reconstructing the dunes and rebuilding the road, the release says.
The highway was set to reopen on the island Nov. 22, but days before, a strong storm hit the area and caused further damage, delaying the opening, NCDOT says.
The island reopened to visitors this month, which was later than planned due to the storm, McClatchy news group reported.
Although the island’s main road is set to reopen Thursday, work on the dune line will continue for the next several months, and drivers should use caution, NCDOT says.
“We couldn’t be more pleased that we’re able to reopen this vital lifeline,” NCDOT Division One Engineer Jerry Jennings said in the release. “We know how important N.C. 12 is to Ocracoke, and we hope this will help speed the island’s recovery process from Hurricane Dorian.”
The N.C. Ferry Division will also start full service between Hatteras and Ocracoke’s South Dock on Thursday, according to the release.
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 6:40 PM.
