Emergency Ferry Service ends, visitor access to Hatteras resumes Thursday morning

By Submitted Story on September 30, 2026

After the emergency route closes, ferries will be repositioned to their regular routes, and full service on the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry route will resume Thursday morning.

N.C. 12 on Pea Island open in both directions.Visitor access to Hatteras resumes Thursday morning. (DriveNC.gov)

 

(NCDOT)

NCDOT released this information on conditions on Hatteras at about noon on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

With N.C. 12 on Pea Island now open in both directions, the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division will end service on its emergency ferry route between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point Wednesday afternoon.

The final departure from Stumpy Point will be at 2 p.m., with the final departure from Rodanthe at 3:30 p.m.

The route, along with the regular Hatteras-Ocracoke route, has been moving critical goods and people on and off Hatteras Island since Sunday morning while N.C. 12 was closed on Pea Island. As of Wednesday morning, the emergency route had moved 1,702 people and 1,030 vehicles off and on Hatteras Island.

N.C. 12 on Pea Island reopened to northbound traffic Tuesday afternoon, with southbound traffic resuming this morning and subject to Dare County’s entry restrictions. Visitor access to Hatteras Island will resume Thursday at 7 a.m.

Traffic on N.C. 12 is being moved on a one-lane gravel road, in alternating directions using an automated flagger system. The gravel road is a temporary fix as NCDOT crews work to reconstruct the two-lane, paved highway.

After the emergency route closes, ferries will be repositioned to their regular routes, and full service on the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry route will resume Thursday morning.