Manns Harbor - After a month-long
dredging effort by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the North Carolina Ferry
System is returning to its regular published schedule on the Cedar
Island-Ocracoke and Swan Quarter-Ocracoke ferry routes as of 4:30 p.m. today.
All vehicle size and weight restrictions have also been lifted.
The dredging began in March, after the ferry channel in Bigfoot
Slough just outside of Ocracoke’s Silver Lake Harbor became too shallow for both
the M/V Swan Quarter and the M/V Sea Level
to pass through it. That required the Ferry Division to reduce its
schedules on Pamlico Sound until dredging was complete.
“We appreciate the hard work the Army Corps of Engineers did in
Bigfoot Slough under rough weather conditions,” said Ferry Division Director
Harold Thomas. “We’re happy to be returning to normal operations on Pamlico
Sound, and look forward to a busy summer season.”