From our folks at Mann's Harbor:
The
N.C. Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division is temporarily adjusting
departure times at its Swan Quarter-Ocracoke route, beginning Thursday, Jan.
24, to assist vendors supplying essential commodities to Ocracoke with adequate
turn-around time.
The
adjusted departures will be:
·
Changing
the 7 a.m. departure to 6:30 a.m. and the 12:30 p.m. departure to 1 p.m. from
Ocracoke; and
·
Changing
the 10 a.m. departure from Swan Quarter to 9:30 a.m.
The
adjusted schedule will be:
·
Departing
from Swan Quarter at 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 and 10; and
·
Departing
from Ocracoke at 6:30 a.m., 10, 1 p.m. and 7.
Residents
of Ocracoke and vendors will be given toll exempt status until the Hatteras
ferry channel resumes operations. The division is monitoring traffic and will
make additional changes if needed.
Operations
at the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry route were suspended Jan. 18 until further
notice, due to the ferry channel at markers #9 and #10 becoming completely
shoaled over and impassable. The channel falls under the jurisdiction of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has hired a contractor to dredge the channel.
Work is under way, but it could take several weeks of dredging before the
channel is safe for ferry operations to resume.
For
more information travelers can sign-up to receive messages on Twitter or visit the N.C. 12 Facebookpage.