Ocracoke Island remains closed to visitors
The North Carolina Ferry System is changing its service to Ocracoke during the recovery from Hurricane Dorian and on Thursday will discontinue the Hatteras into Silver Lake runs.
While Ocracoke is still under mandatory evacuation, Hyde County is only allowing residents, non-resident property owners, and personnel authorized by Hyde County Emergency Management to access the island. All motorists and pedestrians boarding an Ocracoke-bound ferry must meet the re-entry criteria or be given prior approval by Hyde County.
On Thursday, NCDOT will open N.C. 12 on Ocracoke Island but ONLY to four-wheel drive vehicles that are rated at 3/4 ton capacity or smaller (such as Ford F250, GM K2500, Ram 2500, etc.). Please note that trailers will not be allowed at this time. All other vehicles will have to go through Swan Quarter or Cedar Island.
Ferries between Hatteras and Ocracoke-South Dock (at the north end of the island) will be on the following schedule beginning Thursday:
Hatteras to Ocracoke-South Dock: 6, 7, and 8 a.m.; 5, 6, and 7 p.m.
Ocracoke-South Dock to Hatteras: 7:30, 8:30 and 9:15 a.m.; 6:30, 7:30, and 8:30 p.m.
Reservations are not available on the Hatteras-Ocracoke route. Vehicles will be loaded by the re-entry priority procedures established by Hyde County. Motorists should arrive 30 minutes before departure time.
Swan Quarter and Cedar Island Schedule
The Swan Quarter-Ocracoke and Cedar Island-Ocracoke routes will switch to the following schedules on Oct. 8:
Swan Quarter to Ocracoke: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m.
Ocracoke to Swan Quarter: 9:30 a.m., 2 p.m., 8 p.m.
Cedar Island to Ocracoke: 7 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 4:30 p.m.
Ocracoke to Cedar Island: 7:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4 p.m.
Also, there will be an additional run for fuel and vendor deliveries on Wednesdays, departing Swan Quarter at 8 a.m. and returning from Ocracoke to Swan Quarter at 2:30 p.m.
Reservations on these routes are highly recommended, and can be obtained by calling 1-800-BY-FERRY. All reservation holders must arrive at the terminal one hour before departure time. In addition, same-day reservations for ferries departing Ocracoke are not available, and next-day reservations must be made before 4 p.m.
Volunteer groups approved to access Ocracoke are encouraged to board the ferries without vehicles to leave as much deck space as possible for vehicles necessary for hurricane recovery services.
Ocracoke commuter pass owners whose vehicles were destroyed in the storm can obtain new passes by bringing their information and identification to the Ocracoke-Silver Lake ferry terminal between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
how is the roadside cleanup going and the huge pile of debris at beach parking lot ?
It’s going, and more is added to the streets every day. The debris pile at the lifeguard beach lot is a mountain.
Comments are closed.