RALEIGH – 11/2/12   The N.C. Department of Transportation is making progress clearing sand and water from roads along the Outer Banks. 

Bonner Bridge

• The bridge is being used by NCDOT and contractors working on NC 12 south of the bridge. The department expects to have a contract in place in the next several days to repair the tension cables within the deck of several spans. The bridge cannot open to traffic until NC 12 is open south to Rodanthe.
• Additional underwater surveys for scour using side-scan sonar were completed yesterday, Thursday, Nov. 1. That data is being processed and evaluated.
• A contractor had been performing scour repairs before the storm, but had to leave for safety reasons and has remobilized and is continuing work.
  
  

Oregon Inlet to Rodanthe

• Additional equipment and personnel have been brought in and are making good progress clearing sand from the roadway. Currently, four track excavators, eight bulldozers and eight front end loaders plus support equipment are operating in this area. This includes NCDOT resources and three contractors. 
• Inspections of the temporary bridge continue, and work to remove damaged pavement and guardrail on the roadway approaching the bridge is under way. 
• At Rodanthe, crews are clearing sand from the roadway north and south of the damaged pavement at Mirlo Beach. The department is working with other state and federal agencies and contractors, and expects to have a contract for repairs under way in the next several days. This work is expected to take several weeks to complete.
• NCDOT employees have been working extended hours over the last week and will continue working during daylight hours through the weekend to clear sand from this more than 10-mile stretch of highway. Sand in many areas was several feet deep on the highway.
• Employees from nearby divisions are being brought in to relieve many of the local equipment operators and will work through the weekend to continue this work to clear the road.  
  
  

Rodanthe to Hatteras

• The roadway is open to traffic from Rodanthe to the Hatteras Ferry terminal, with some sand and water at a few isolated locations.
• Hatteras Island can be accessed by taking the emergency ferry from Stumpy Point to Rodanthe, which is making 10 runs daily from each side, or through Ocracoke.
  
  

Ocracoke

• NCDOT opened both lanes to traffic Thursday. Some sand and water remain on the road.  
  
  

The department urges motorists to “know before you go” about traffic conditions along the Outer Banks. For real-time travel information at any time, call 511, visit www.ncdot.gov/travel or follow NCDOT on Twitter at www.ncdot.gov/travel/twitter/.

Another option is NCDOT Mobile, a phone-friendly version of the NCDOT website. To access it, type “m.ncdot.gov” into the browser of your smartphone and bookmark it for future reference. NCDOT Mobile is compatible with the iPhone, Android and some newer Blackberry phones.

(To view images of hurricane recovery efforts along the Outer Banks, visit the NCDOT Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncdot/.)

***NCDOT***