NCDOT gearing up for closing Ocracoke highway to replace bridges


The N.C. Department of Transportation will begin moving construction materials and equipment onto Ocracoke Island this month in preparation for the Highway 12 bridge replacements scheduled to start in January.

To prepare for this project, signalized lane closures along Highway 12 on Ocracoke Island are scheduled to occur as follows:

  • One of two lanes will be closed in the construction zone beginning as early as Monday, Nov. 5, through Friday, Nov. 16;
  • All lanes will remain open from Friday, Nov. 16, through Monday, Nov. 26, to accommodate motorists traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday;
  • One of two lanes will be closed in construction zone from Monday, Nov. 26, to Friday, Dec. 21; and
  • All lanes will remain open from Friday, Dec. 21 through Wednesday, Jan. 2, to accommodate motorists traveling for the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays.

Beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 2, through Friday, March 15, crews will close access to Highway 12 on Ocracoke Island to replace seven bridges on the island. Work includes removing the current wooden bridges and replacing them with wider concrete structures. During this time, only four-wheel-drive vehicles will be able to use the established 3.2 mile beach detour between the National Park Service campground and the Pony Pens to access the village of Ocracoke. All other vehicles must use the Swan Quarter and Cedar Island ferries to access Ocracoke.

More traveler information, as well as ferry schedule changes, will be available next month. You can also check out the Web site http://www.ocracokebridges.com.

For more information on this project, contact Division 1 Maintenance Engineer Sterling Baker at (252) 482-7977.

More information on the preparations for the 75-day detour on the Ocracoke beach is available on the Archives page of The Island Free Press Web site under Shooting the Breeze columns by editor Irene Nolan. (Ocracoke getting read for life without the road, Oct. 1, 2007)
   

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