North Carolina Highway 12 - History

History

In the 1920s, NC 12 was born as a route from Pollocksville (near New Bern) to the Virginia border, through Kinston, Rich Square, Tarboro, and Murfreesboro. NC 12 north of Kinston was truncated in 1934 and US 258 took its place. In the 1950s, NC 58 completely took over NC 12's remaining route and NC 12 was decommissioned. A road linking the southern and central Outer Banks communities was paved and designated as NC 12 in 1962. A year later, a bridge across Oregon Inlet was constructed and NC 12 was routed along it. This bridge was built to eliminate the need for ferry service to and from Hatteras Island and to provide a quick hurricane evacuation route. In 1987, NC 12 was extended north of Nags Head along the Virginia Dare Trail (then Business US 158). NC 12 was extended further to Corolla, its present northern terminus, a year later.

Hatteras Island was cut in two on September 18, 2003 by Hurricane Isabel which opened a new inlet 3,000 feet (910 m) wide and 30 feet (9.1 m) deep through the community of Hatteras Village on the southern end of Hatteras Island. This new inlet was temporarily named the Isabel Inlet after the hurricane. Road access along NC 12 was temporarily severed until the island was repaired and restored by sand pumped ashore by the Army Corps of Engineers. In 2007, Subtropical Storm Andrea caused high winds to push waves over dunes and onto the highway on Hatteras Island, leaving water a foot deep and sand 2 to 3 feet (0.91 m) deep in some places.

NC 12 was severed in two places by Hurricane Irene in late August 2011. The road was breached by two small inlets, about 200 feet (61 m) across apiece, in the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, and north of Rodanthe. As a result, the only way to access Hatteras Island was by ferry. On October 10, 2011, a temporary bridge opened over the largest breach. The bridge, which is 662 feet (202 m) long, could be in place for more than 10 years while other solutions are thought out. As Hurricane Sandy battered the East Coast in October 2012, it has left portions of NC 12 inundated with salt water and sand. That forced the closure of the road, leaving the remaining people on the Outer Banks isolated from mainland North Carolina.

In late October of 2012, Superstorm Sandy washed out or damaged a portion of the road at the S-curves north of Rodanthe] on the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Emergency ferry service was established from Rodanthe to Stumpy point ferry terminals. Like in 2011 the ferry service became the lifeline for Hatteras Island. Noreasters and storms repeatedly caused breaches since the road was repaired in December 2012. A state of emergency was declared and $20.8 million dollars of emergency federal funding was secured to construct a more permanent repair.