RODANTHE – The N.C. Department of Transportation will reopen one lane of N.C. 12 on Pea Island to northbound traffic at 3 p.m. today, a day earlier than Wednesday’s scheduled reopening.
A one-lane, gravel stretch of N.C. 12 will be reopened for northbound traffic first. As the northbound traffic congestion subsides, southbound traffic will be allowed along the road, with the alternating directions of one-way traffic controlled by an automatic flagger system. The current restrictions will remain in place even when southbound traffic reopens.
Dare County officials will announce when the southbound traffic will be allowed. There is not a timeline for when the road will reopen to southbound traffic.
Northbound traffic was already lined up overnight in anticipation of the road being reopened. So when the road reopens at 3 p.m., there will be heavy congestion. Drivers should be patient, pay attention and drive through the area with caution.
The highway has been closed from the Marc Basnight Bridge to Rodanthe since early Thursday morning when a 1,000-foot section of pavement near the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center was damaged by repeated ocean overwash during a powerful nor’easter.
NCDOT crews started building back the protective sand dune along N.C. 12 after tidal conditions subsided Sunday. The damaged asphalt and grading was also removed, and crews started laying down a mixture of aggregate and gravel to construct the one-lane road.
State transportation crews are working to reconstruct N.C. 12 in its two-lane, paved configuration, but do not have a timeline for when the road will be fully reopened to traffic. NCDOT will announce the full reopening of N.C. 12 in advance of its reopening.
Meanwhile, the emergency ferry route between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point will remain in operation on its 24-hour schedule until traffic congestion on Hatteras Island subsides and officials determine the emergency route is no longer required.