Among the items included in Friday's progress report:

• The four trams that will carry visitors on a half-hour loop around Ocracoke Village will be delivered to Hyde County by the end of July. The tram system will go into service even before the passenger ferry begins operation. All Ocracoke visitors and residents may ride the trams for free.
   
• The hull, passenger cabin and wheelhouse of the ferry - the three major sections of the boat - are currently under construction at the US Workboats shipyard in Hubert. The catamaran-style ferry is expected to be finished in the fall of 2018. The ferry will then undergo sea trials and beta tests, with service expected to begin before the end of the year.
   
• Construction of new passenger facilities and parking at the Hatteras and Ocracoke ferry terminals is nearly complete.

Friday's meeting at the Roanoke Island Visitor Center is part of NCDOT's ongoing efforts to provide stakeholders and others with regular updates on the passenger-only ferry service.

The $4.15 million M/V Ocracoke Express will be a 98-passenger ferry that will take passengers from the Hatteras Inlet Terminal directly to the Silver Lake Terminal in the heart of Ocracoke Village. The project is designed to ease visitor access to Ocracoke Island and alleviate summertime congestion on the ferry system's popular vehicle ferry.