As of Sunday, Jan. 6, crews had approximately 620 sandbags left to install in the effort to rebuild the dunes near Mirlo Beach in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Weather permitting, this work could be complete as early as Jan. 18. Once all the sandbags are in place, they will be covered with approximately 6-8 feet of sand. The sand used for filling sandbags and dune reconstruction is trucked in from a sand pit in Avon.
Ferry Adds Night Departures
The NCDOT Ferry Division is adding two night departures at its Swan Quarter-Ocracoke route, beginning Wednesday, Jan. 9, to assist travelers while the Hatteras ferry channel is dredged. These runs are in addition to the current winter schedule of two departures daily from each side. The extra night departures will continue until the Hatteras-Ocracoke schedule returns to normal.
For the past several weeks, ferry operations have been suspended daily during low water at the Hatteras-Ocracoke route. Shoaling in the channel has been an ongoing issue, but Hurricane Sandy, two back-to-back Nor’easters and several winter wind storms have contributed to the problem. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working to resolve the situation, as the channel falls under federal jurisdiction. The USACE has issued a dredging contract to address the channel shoaling, and work is under way, but several weeks could pass before dredging alleviates the problem
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