OUTER BANKS, N.C. — The "road closed" signs remain in place at the Marc Basnight Bridge and the roundabout in Rodanthe. Friday morning's conditions weren't any better than they've alreaedy been this week during the coastal storm. The North Carolina Department of Transportation is outlining its plans to get NC-12 back open once conditions improve.
News 3 introduced viewers to Barbara Knudson on Wednesday. Knudson is visiting from Vermont and planned to stay during the storm, but like many others, she's now stuck in Rodanthe.
"I thought, like everybody else, that this would just be a pretty typical, maybe a little bit stronger nor'easter," said Knudson.
Knudson was staying in an oceanfront home in Rodanthe, but because of the conditions, was forced to move to another house on the soundside by her rental company.
"It got scary enough that I actually packed a go bag and slept in my clothes just in case something happened," said Knudson.
As News 3 told viewers on Thursday, Hatteras Island's lifeline has been cut off because of around 500 feet of damage to the road near the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.
News 3 spoke to NCDOT Division One Communications Officer Tim Hass on Friday about where everything goes from here. Hass says the sand and water on this stretch of NC-12 continue to make their assessment of the damage challenging. But NCDOT does have contractors on standby ready to get to work when they are able and shared what that will look like.
"What that would entail is first reconstructing a small protective dune on the ocean side of the road, and then constructing a temporary one-lane detour," said Hass.
That temporary one-lane detour would be operated by automatic traffic flaggers. Hass says the full repairs of the road could take weeks, but at least this would allow people to get on and off Hatteras Island.
"The road repairs themselves might take weeks, but if we can get that one lane detour open in a matter of days, that would allow people to get off and on Hatteras Island at least," said Hass.
Right now it's still not clear when this will all become a reality. There are still multiple high tide cycles that could continue to bring ocean overwash impact to the area and even create more damage to NC-12.
NC-12 continues to be closed Friday and should be expected to remain closed Saturday as well. The use of the emergency ferry in Rodanthe continues to be discussed, but right now a final decision has not been made.
For Knudson, it's not the ideal situation, but she isn't letting that break her spirit.
"I'm still on vacation. I'm still on the ocean by the water, and it's certainly not a beach day, but it could be so much worse," said Knudson.
Dare County and NCDOT continue to provide updates on the storm and NC-12 conditions. You can click on both links to learn more about current and future conditions.
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