NCDOT road crews cleared the sand and water from Ocracoke's north end of Hwy. 12 by Wednesday afternoon. The road was passable for the ferries to resume their regular schedule at 1pm.
The road remains open and dry on Thursday.
Previous story:
Water and sand from ocean overwash continue to cover N.C. 12 on Ocracoke Island near the ferry terminal that serves the Ocracoke-Hatteras ferry service. In the interest of public safety, NCDOT and emergency management officials in Dare and Hyde counties have decided to keep the highway closed through at least the Wednesday morning high tide. That in turn means the Ocracoke-Hatteras ferry service will be suspended until at least that time.
The decision was made in anticipation of continued flooding from high tides coming early this evening and again Wednesday morning. High water since Monday evening has caused the road to closed three miles south of the ferry terminal on the north end of the island.
High water and sand has also caused a section of N.C. 12 to be closed in Kitty Hawk between Bickett and Byrd streets. That closure will also remain in effect until at least Wednesday morning.
For real-time travel information, call 511, visit the Traveler Services section of NCDOT.gov or follow NCDOT on Twitter.
Editor's note:
At 8am, the NCDOT Ferry Division Twitter feed (@NCDOT_Ferry) tweeted: "Hatteras / Ocracoke ferries still suspended at this time. NC Hwy 12 is closed in Ocracoke."
At 2pm, the same account tweeted: "Due to continued high water levels, NC 12 is not expected to reopen on Ocracoke Island or Kitty Hawk until 10 AM, Wednesday 2/10/16."
The only ferry that left Ocracoke today ran at 2pm, so that the JV and Varsity basketball teams could play at Manteo tonight. Time and tide wait for no man, but Ocracoke basketball waits not for time and tide. Go Dolphins! Enjoy your sleepover!
