STUMPY POINT – The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division will begin 24-hour emergency ferry service between Stumpy Point and Rodanthe, to provide a transportation link between Hatteras and the North Carolina mainland while a section of N.C. 12 remains closed.
The emergency route will start at 5 a.m. Thursday on the following schedule:
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. and 11 p.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., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
On Friday, the route will start at 2 a.m. and will use the following schedule for its remaining operation:
Rodanthe to Stumpy Point: 2 a.m., 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. and 11 p.m.
Stumpy Point to Rodanthe: 2 a.m., 5 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
The emergency ferry will operate on a three-boat schedule. A one-way trip between Stumpy Point and Rodanthe takes approximately two hours.
The ferry route will again serve as a temporary travel option while N.C. 12 remains closed between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe. The road was closed Tuesday evening due to ocean overwash but was then damaged overnight when waves undermined the pavement at the Pea Island Visitor Center.
This is the second time since late September that the emergency ferry route has been activated. The emergency route was used after the September nor’easter damaged pavement on N.C. 12 at the Pea Island Visitor Center.
The Stumpy Point ferry terminal is at 100 Log Storage Road, Stumpy Point. The Rodanthe ferry terminal is at 23170 Myrna Peters Road, Rodanthe.
The schedule and updates will also be published on NCDOT’s Ferry Facebook and N.C. 12 Facebook social media pages.
Dare County’s emergency reentry restrictions are in place for all departures to Rodanthe. That means that ONLY essential personnel, permanent Dare County residents, critical business vendors, nonresident Hatteras Island property owners and employees of Hatteras Island businesses will be allowed onto Rodanthe-bound ferries. Law enforcement will be onsite to ensure compliance with reentry restrictions. Visitors will NOT be allowed onto Rodanthe-bound ferries at this time.
Departures to Stumpy Point will be loaded on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority loading given to vendors returning from their deliveries. Ferry space is limited, and travelers should expect long lines and significant delays. To help preserve space for passenger vehicles on other trips, bulk deliveries of petroleum products and propane will be limited to the 5 p.m. departure from Stumpy Point and the 2 a.m. departure from Rodanthe.
Work Continues on N.C. 12
At the Pea Island Visitor Center, state transportation crews are restoring more than 1,800 feet of the highway’s protective dunes that have been lost to ocean overwash in recent days. Crews are using heavy equipment to clear significant amounts of blown sand covering sections of N.C. 12 in the nearby Canal Zone. Crews estimated Wednesday that about 800 feet of N.C. 12 pavement was damaged by ocean water that undermined the road Tuesday night.
There is no timeline for reopening the road on Pea Island.
Additional high tide cycles and continued ocean overwash must subside before NCDOT can fully assess damage to N.C. 12 and determine what repairs will be needed to restore travel access.
Ocracoke and Ferries Update
N.C. 12 on Ocracoke remains open.
N.C. Ferry officials on Wednesday afternoon resumed limited service on the Hatteras-Ocracoke route. The limited service will continue Thursday on the following schedule:
Hatteras to Ocracoke: 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m., and midnight
Ocracoke to Hatteras: 7:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m., and 4 a.m.
NCDOT continues to provide ferry service on the routes between Ocracoke Village and the mainland (Cedar Island and Swan Quarter). Reservations are highly recommended and are available online or by calling 1-800-BY-FERRY.
The Bayview-Aurora, Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach, and Southport-Fort Fisher routes are operating on their normal schedules. Service is also suspended on the Currituck-Knotts Island ferry route, due to the storm's impacts.
For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.