OUTER BANKS, N.C. — On the Outer Banks, N.C. Highway 12 is now fully reopened near the Pea Island Visitor Center after NCDOT crews finished rebuilding protective sand dunes, ending intermittent traffic stops, the department said Thursday, Oct. 8.
NCDOT stated that NC-12 is now fully reopened and that crews rebuilt the protective sand dunes so intermittent traffic stops are not necessary. The work was among the last short-term repairs after a late-September nor’easter damaged the roadway.
Two lanes of unrestricted traffic were initially restored about 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, after the highway was closed for several days due to severe ocean overwash, damaged pavement and erosion near the Pea Island Visitor Center.
Crews kept working through the week to rebuild highway shoulders, reconstruct the protective dune line and install permanent lane markings, which still meant periodic lane closures and traffic stops until Thursday’s update.
A parallel account from Rodanthe said Highway 12 along the Outer Banks fully reopened after crews rebuilt the dune line breached in the Sept. 24 coastal storm. That report said a 1,000-foot stretch between Basnight and Rodanthe had reopened Saturday evening after major roadway damage.
NCDOT still advises motorists to drive cautiously through the area. Standing water can linger along portions of the highway shoulders as crews remove temporary traffic-control devices.
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and Cape Hatteras National Seashore frame the corridor where the washout hit. Hatteras Village travelers rely on that NC-12 link, so the full reopen restores the primary road spine for island traffic.
