OUTER BANKS, N.C. — Our Hatteras Island neighbors continue to rely on the emergency ferry service to get to and from their homes on Tuesday. The North Carolina Department of Transportation said Tuesday that it hopes to have N.C. 12 reopened by noon Friday between the Marc Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe via a one-lane paved detour.
"We want a safe and guaranteed roadway to travel for our families and our communities on and off this island. There's too many people here to survive by ferry, we have to have a road," said Natalie Kavanagh, a member of the "Bridge Moms."
The origin of the Bridge Moms goes back more than a decade, when Natalie Kavanagh spoke at an NCDOT public meeting about the former Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet.
"The Bonner Bridge safety ratings began to plummet. I had to speak at an NCDOT public meeting and gave a comment about my fears for traveling across the Bonner Bridge. At the time I had a toddler, and just how scary it was to think about driving over that bridge," said Kavanagh.
Fellow moms in the audience that night felt the same, and the "Bridge Moms" were born. Years later, in 2019, the brand-new Marc Basnight Bridge over Oregon Inlet opened. Kavanagh spoke at the ribbon-cutting alongside fellow Bridge Mom Beth Midgett.
"I actually got to speak on behalf of the moms and also to remind our legislators and leaders that this is who you're building these bridges for, and this is who you're keeping these highways safe for," said Kavanagh.
The Bridge Moms never went away, but over the last year, their mission for N.C. 12 access has been renewed. Over the last month, N.C. 12 near the Pea Island Visitor Center has twice seen 1,000 feet or more of damage, and road access has been cut off. Once road access is open again, Kavanagh shared what she'd like to see.
"The next step would be moving the road over a little bit to buy them some time, and I think the long-term solution is obviously a bridge on pilings through the refuge, which actually would help heal the problems that we're having," said Kavanagh.
Kavanagh even talked about temporary or emergency bridges being built at this specific spot. NCDOT did tell News 3 on Monday that it is in early discussions about moving the road in this area west.
Kavanagh says the Bridge Moms would like to have a seat at the table in these discussions about what the future of this vulnerable stretch of N.C. 12 will look like.
"My big ask would be to have all of these players at the table: state, federal, NCDOT, our local leaders of Dare County and I would love to have a seat there as well to talk about what to do and to see what their stages of reaction is going to be to this issue right now," said Kavanagh.
Around-the-clock emergency ferry service between Stumpy Point and Rodanthe continues for Hatteras Island residents. NCDOT says that as of Monday, the emergency ferry had moved 1,881 vehicles and 3,117 people on and off Hatteras Island.
Hatteras Island remains under a state of emergency and visitor access is still restricted. For more information on who is and isn't allowed on Hatteras Island at this time, head to the Dare County reentry website here.
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