The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced Saturday that N.C. Highway 12 on Hatteras Island is safe for travel after 12 p.m.
Dare County officials have established a staged reentry process for locals following mandatory evacuation orders that were issued due to the impacts of Hurricane Erin.
The staged reentry processes enables those who live on Hatteras Island to return to their homes, and for those who own property to check their homes before tourists are permitted to return. The reentry also enables employees to return to assist businesses with preparing for the return of tourists.
The reentry stages are as follows:
- Priority 2 and Priority 3 are allowed access Saturday at 12 p.m.
- Priority 4 access will go into effect Sunday at 5 a.m. Visitors will be allowed entry at this time, as all restrictions on entry will be lifted.
Priority 2 includes permanent residents and essential personnel for businesses. Residents must present a valid Priority 2 reentry permit or a valid N.C. license/identification card that displays a Hatteras Island address.
Priority 3 are for non-resident property owners and employees of non-critical businesses. These people must present a current real property tax bill or property record with matching identification.
Priority 4 is for the general public and tourists.
NCDOT crews will continue to work on removing remaining sand and water on NC-12, as standing saltwater on roadways can cause damage to cars. Officials urge drivers to proceed with caution and drive slowly to reduce the risk of damage.
If you encounter NCDOT workers, give them plenty of room to continue working on clearing the roads.
NC-12 reopened, but at a cost
Last year, NC-12 faced at least three shutdowns caused by intense winter storms. And each overwash comes with a cost.
“We need to do everything we can to protect it,” Gov. Josh Stein said.
WRAL News asked Stein about the repeated cost to taxpayers to protect, clean, and in some cases, rebuild Highway 12.
“This is an important road for North Carolina,” Stein said. “There are so many people that live there, there are so many tourism dollars that go on that road.”
From routine maintenance to federal disaster money, at least $70 million was spent on Highway 12 between 2012 and 2022. That total doesn’t include the billions of dollars put toward beach nourishment projects along the Outer Banks to fight erosion, which makes the highway even more vulnerable.
For longtime residents, scenes like this are no longer rare. A new collaborative study suggests that these disruptions are only the beginning.
“Storms and even high tides, as we’ve been seeing in recent years, cause flooding and overwash of sand onto oceanfront roads,” said Laura Moore, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor and one of the study’s lead authors. “That’s problematic for transportation, but the washing up of sand is actually vital to maintaining island elevation and width.”
For decades, the state has tried to protect Highway 12 — the only road connecting Ocracoke Island to Hatteras and the mainland — by building dunes, placing sandbags, and repairing washed-out stretches after every major storm. But Moore and her colleagues warn that these strategies may be making the problem worse.