Along the Outer Banks, crews are staging front end loaders, motor graders and bulldozers along N.C. 12 in Ocracoke, Rodanthe and Pea Island, south of the Bonner Bridge, in Dare and Hyde counties. This is in addition to other equipment already at the maintenance yards in Manteo, Ocracoke and Buxton. NCDOT has more equipment ready to mobilize if needed, as well as employees prepared to patrol N.C. 12 during and after the storm.
At this time, no evacuation orders have been issued for Dare or Hyde counties and all ferry service is running according to the regular schedule. Crews inspected emergency ferry docks to ensure the sites are ready if needed. The Ferry Division anticipates that service could be affected along its routes from south to north as the storm gets closer to the Carolina coast. The ferries cannot safely operate once winds reach about 30-35 miles per hour. The larger 180-foot ferries are already in use nearby at the Hatteras-Ocracoke route in case an emergency ferry route is needed once the storm passes.
In NCDOT Division 2, which includes Carteret, Craven, Beaufort, Pamlico, Jones, Lenior, Greene and Pitt counties, maintenance crews are checking equipment and inventory to make sure it is all in working order, and gathering high water signs and other traffic control devices. If the current storm path continues, they will have crews on standby.
Division 3 crews, which cover Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender, Onslow, Duplin and Sampson counties, have fueled up their equipment and checked their equipment. Like crews in the other divisions, they will be working with power companies to help clear roads that may become blocked by storm damage.
Law enforcement is also keeping an eye on the storm. The Highway Patrol or local departments have the authority to close any bridges because of dangerous weather conditions such as high wind.
NCDOT will provide real-time information about travel conditions through its Twitter feeds. As the storm approaches, the department will send out tweets about road closures, flooding, ferry cancellations and evacuation routes. Valuable travel information is also available through the department’s other social media tools – Facebook and YouTube. You can access social media feeds and other summer storm information on the NCDOT website.
The helpful resources on the website include:
- Traffic conditions/Advisories/Maps: http://tims.ncdot.gov/tims/default.aspx
- 511, the state’s toll-free traffic line: http://www.ncdot.gov/travel/511/default.html
- Safe driving tips: http://www.ncdot.gov/travel/safetytips/default.html
- Hurricane evacuation tips and maps: http://www.ncdot.gov/travel/evacuationmaps/default.html
- Ferry information: http://www.ncdot.gov/ferry/