N.C. Highway 12 reopens on Ocracoke Island after being washed out by Hurricane Erin

OCRACOKE, N.C. (WNCN) — After being closed for several days following overwash from Hurricane Erin, the North Carolina Department of Transportation announced N.C. Highway 12 will be reopening on the north end of Ocracoke Island Monday.

In addition to opening the highway, NCDOT said vehicle ferry services between Hatteras Island and Ocracoke will also begin again.

Both the highway and ferry services will begin at 5 p.m., according to NCDOT, with the ferry services running on a different schedule until Tuesday.

The NCDOT lists the ferry times as follows:

• From Hatteras Island: 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 8 p.m., 9 p.m., 11 p.m., and midnight.
• From Ocracoke Island: 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m., and midnight.

State officials are warning motorist to use caution while traveling N.C. 12 because some water and a thin layer of sand is still on the roadway.

“NCDOT crews have been working to clear N.C. 12 between high tide cycles to make the road safe for travel.” the NCDOT said in a news release.

With ferry services restarting, NCDOT said all ferry routes have returned to service.