Top state transportation leaders joined Dare County and National Park Service officials on Tuesday for a firsthand look at the most vulnerable stretches of N.C. Highway 12, the critical link connecting Hatteras Island to the rest of the Outer Banks.
North Carolina Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins, state Board of Transportation Chair Tony Lathrop, Vice Chair Lisa Mathis, Division 1 Board Member Tess Judge, and key NCDOT staff toured the highway with Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard, County Manager Bobby Outten and National Parks of Eastern North Carolina Superintendent Dave Hallac.
The group focused on “hot spots” in Dare County identified in the N.C. Highway 12 Task Force’s February 2023 report — areas where erosion, flooding and storm overwash most threaten safe travel.
The task force’s report recommends bridge construction at each of the major hot spots as the most resilient long-term solution, building on the success of previous projects such as the Marc Basnight, Captain Richard Etheridge and the Jug Handle bridges.
“This is about more than infrastructure,” said Woodard in a post on the county’s Facebook page. “(I)t’s about keeping our Hatteras Island communities connected, protecting natural resources, and building a sustainable future for our county.”
The tour comes the day before a community meeting is held in Ocracoke to review the results from a study evaluate the effects of several adaptation strategies related to transportation and resource management challenges on Ocracoke Island.
The session will provide an overview of the project, review the modeling results and solicit feedback from the public, and is scheduled from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Ocracoke Community Center.
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