EDENTON, N.C. — Gov. Josh Stein, visiting Edenton on Tuesday, said North Carolina needs a lasting answer for N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island and that the federal government should help pay for it, as ocean overwash kept the coastal highway closed for another day.
Stein spoke with reporters after cutting the ribbon for a boat builder with Australian roots that is opening a plant in the Chowan County town. He argued that patching the road after every storm drains money, and that a solution built to survive the weather would be the smarter spend.
State transportation officials have estimated that a permanent fix, such as another bridge, would run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Stein called that a worthwhile priority and compared the highway to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a federally maintained road that serves visitors from across the country, since N.C. 12 carries travelers to a national seashore. U.S. Rep. Don Davis, who also attended, agreed that repeated short-term repairs grow costly and that federal help is needed.
Back on the island, the highway stayed closed Tuesday between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe because of continued overwash and dune loss near the Pea Island Visitor Center. NCDOT crews cleared sand and water through Monday evening, but waves kept wearing away the protective dune, and no reopening time had been set.
A mandatory evacuation for Hatteras Island visitors remained in place. Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Newport/Morehead City warned that the long-running nor’easter could keep causing serious coastal flooding and erosion through Thursday, Oct. 22.
Stein also weighed in on a new state law that requires every state ferry to charge tolls by Jan. 1. He said he would ask the transportation department what is possible after its leaders asked lawmakers for more time.
Section: More Outer Banks NC crime news
Filed under: Outer Banks NC Traffic News
