RODANTHE – N.C. Department of Transportation crews have started installing sandbags along a 1,600-foot section of N.C. 12 at the Pea Island Visitor Center. The section of road was heavily damaged during a nor’easter last month.
The sandbags, each 15 feet long, are designed to deter the undermining of the roadway that can damage pavement. Work started Friday and is expected to take about four weeks as crews plan to install about 1,100 sandbags. Once that process is complete, crews will begin work to pave a second lane on the highway to restore N.C. 12 to full two-lane access in the area.
N.C. 12 is currently open along the damaged corridor with a
one-lane detour controlled by automated signals.
At the same time, NCDOT is pursuing a road realignment near the Pea Island Visitor Center that would shift approximately 3,300 feet of N.C. 12 as much as 180 feet to the west while constructing a protective dune along the current alignment. This proposed realignment would substantially reduce emergency repair needs and improve reliable access for Outer Banks communities.
The proposed realignment would require relocating or replacing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s visitor center in the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, securing a new roadway easement and completing permitting. NCDOT is prepared to advertise the project for bidding as soon as permitting and land transfer negotiations allow.
Long-Term N.C. 12 Plans
The department and its federal and local partners are working on a plan to improve reliable, long-term access along N.C. 12 that includes the area that’s currently under repair. The goal of the
Solving Access for N.C. 12 in Dare County, or SAND, program is to identify improvements that will reduce travel disruptions on an 11-mile corridor from the Marc Basnight Bridge to Rodanthe. Public feedback has been an important part of the SAND process, and next week NCDOT and the Federal Highway Administration will host
three public meetings Nov. 17-19.
The SAND plan, which is funded through a federal grant, is scheduled for completion next summer.