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A committee pulled together by Dare County continues its search for long-range alternatives for keeping access on NC 12 on Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.

The NC 12 Task Force Sub-committee is marching resolutely down Hatteras Island’s hotspots.

In September, the committee considered Avon and the NC 12 corridor between Avon and Buxton.

In the short-term, the erosion problem evident from Avon to Buxton will be solved for five years with a Dare County-sponsored beach nourishment project. The project runs from Due East, just north of the Avon Pier, to the southern boundary of Avon, through the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and along the Buxton shoreline. Dare County is expected request bids for this beach nourishment project in October.

Currently, within Avon, ocean water spills over oceanside property and floods the southern end of NC 12 through the village.

NCDOT’s William Bridgers told the subcommittee that the flooded road is an impediment to traffic, but hasn’t yet destroyed the roadway. Stormwater says on the road impeding mobility

The easiest way to deal with stormwater is to raise the grade, said Bridgers.

Bridgers also said NCDOT has no stormwater infrastructure where it should exist and the agency has no drainage easements.

Dare County applied for and received a FEMA grant for a stormwater study. The county has not yet received a Notice to Proceed. Once that notice is in hand, the county will send out a Request for Proposals for an engineering firm to conduct the project.

As to a long-range solution for the Avon-Buxton corridor, the sub-committee is looking at bridges. No landing spots were selected.

The subcommittee next meets Oct. 14, 2021 at 11 a.m. at the Dare County Administration Building located at 954 Marshall C. Collins Dr. in Manteo. At that meeting, the sub-committee will consider the hotspots between Frisco and Buxton and the vehicular ferry landing on Ocracoke.

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