RODANTHE – The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division announced today that it will expand its emergency ferry route service between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point on Tuesday and Wednesday. The route will remain in operation on a 24-hour-a-day schedule until congestion on Hatteras Island subsides and officials determine the route is no longer required.
The route has been moving critical goods and people on and off Hatteras Island since Sunday morning. Road access to the island has been severed since ocean overwash caused by a nor’easter damaged N.C. 12 at the Pea Island Visitor Center early Thursday morning.
The expanded schedule for the emergency route on Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 29-30, is as follows:
Rodanthe to Stumpy Point: 5 a.m., 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 8 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 11 p.m., 2 a.m. and 3:30 a.m.
Stumpy Point to Rodanthe: 5 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 8 p.m., 11 p.m., 12:30 a.m., and 2 a.m.
The Stumpy Point ferry terminal is at 100 Log Storage Road, Stumpy Point. The Rodanthe ferry terminal is at 23170 Myrna Peters Road, Rodanthe.
In addition, ferry service has resumed on the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry route on an amended schedule. That schedule is as follows:
Hatteras to Ocracoke: 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m., and midnight
Ocracoke to Hatteras: 4 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 10:30 p.m.
Those leaving Hatteras via Ocracoke will need to access another ferry from Ocracoke to either Swan Quarter or Cedar Island. Reservations for those ferries are highly recommended and can be obtained online at
ncferry.org or by calling 1-800-BY-FERRY.
Dare County’s emergency
entry restrictions are in place for all departures to Hatteras. That means that ONLY essential personnel, critical business vendors, and permanent Hatteras Island residents will be allowed onto Hatteras-bound ferries. Law enforcement will be onsite to ensure compliance with entry restrictions. Visitors will NOT be allowed onto Hatteras-bound ferries at this time.
In the meantime, NCDOT has announced plans to reopen N.C. 12 on Pea Island to northbound traffic on Wednesday morning. Those who do not need to leave Hatteras Island immediately are requested to depart then to alleviate wait times on ferry routes.