MANNS HARBOR -The North Carolina Department
of Transportation's Ferry Division began operating its emergency ferry
route between Stumpy Point and Rodanthe with limited service Tuesday
night, and will begin a full schedule of runs
on Wednesday, due to the closure of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge on
Tuesday afternoon.
The division will be using four 180-foot River
Class vessels to run the route, which takes two hours to complete.
Maximum capacity will allow 760 single cars to cross each day, 380 from
each side.
On Tuesday, there will be departures from Rodanthe
at 6 p.m. and midnight, and from Stumpy Point at 9:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m.
Starting Wednesday, the regular Stumpy Point-Rodanthe schedule will be
as follows:
- Departing Stumpy Point at 5 a.m., 6:30, 8, 9:30, 11, 12:30p.m., 2, 3:30, 5, & 9:30.
- Departing Rodanthe at 6 a.m., 7:30, 9, 10:30, Noon, 1:30p.m, 3, 4:30, 6, & 7:30.
In addition, residents of Hatteras and Ocracoke
Islands, as well as emergency personnel and vendors, will have tolls
waived on Pamlico Sound routes between Ocracoke-Cedar Island and
Ocracoke-Swan Quarter.
Unfortunately, the boats and crews needed for the
emergency route will also mean fewer boats and crews for the
Hatteras-Ocracoke route. The new schedule on that route, effective
immediately, is as follows:
- Departing Ocracoke: 5 a.m., 7, 9, 11, 1 p.m., 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11.
- Departing Hatteras: 6 a.m., 8, 10, Noon, 2 p.m., 4, 6, 8, 10, and midnight.
Loading for the emergency ferry-route is on a
first-come, first-served basis, but Dare County Emergency Management has
the ability to establish priority loading procedures if the need
arises.
Ferry information is available by calling
800-293-3779, or via Facebook and Twitter.