Outer Banks highway will partially reopen Wednesday, allowing people off Hatteras Island

Richard Stradling, The News & Observer (Raleigh) on Sep 28, 2026

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RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation hopes to partially reopen N.C. 12 through the north end of Hatteras Island on Wednesday, helping people trapped since last week’s coastal storm forced the state to close the highway.

NCDOT says it initially plans to allow northbound traffic only on a single lane through the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to the Marc Basnight Bridge. It’s not known yet when southbound traffic onto the island will be restored.

N.C. 12 has been closed through the refuge since early Thursday morning, when a nor’easter moving up the coast washed away the protective sand dunes and covered the highway with seawater. When the water receded, it revealed about 1,000 feet of broken and buckled pavement near the wildlife refuge visitor center.

On Sunday, NCDOT crews began rebuilding the sand dune and started working on a one-lane temporary detour alongside the damaged pavement. The department announced Monday that it expects the detour will be ready Wednesday morning.

NCDOT says there’s a backlog of people waiting to get off the island.

“Traffic volume is expected to be very high upon reopening, so motorists are advised to be patient and drive through the area with extreme caution,” it said in a statement.

NCDOT added that it will be up to Dare County officials to decide when to allow southbound traffic through the refuge.

In the meantime, NCDOT began 24-hour emergency ferry service between Stumpy Point on the mainland and Rodanthe, south of the refuge, to provide access to Hatteras Island. The ferries began running at 11 a.m. Sunday, with three boats making the roughly two-hour trip across Pamlico Sound.

Dare County is restricting access on the Rodanthe-bound ferries to essential personnel, critical business vendors and permanent Hatteras Island residents. Visitors are being turned away.

The ferries will continue running until “traffic congestion on Hatteras Island subsides” and officials determine they’re no longer needed, NCDOT says.

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