The NC Department of Transportation will hold public meetings next week for people to learn more about progress on the Solving Access for N.C. 12 in Dare County (SAND) Plan that aims to improve short- and long-term public access to N.C. 12, the main highway between the northern Outer Banks and Hatteras Island.
The drop-in informational meetings will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the following dates and locations:
- Nov. 17 at Jennette’s Pier, 7223 S. Virginia Dare Trail, Nags Head
- Nov. 18 at the Rodanthe Waves Salvo Community Building, 23646 N.C. 12, Rodanthe
- Nov. 19 at the Hatteras Civic Center, 56658 N.C. 12, Hatteras
The SAND plan deals with a vulnerable, 11-mile stretch of N.C. 12 in Dare County that has regularly experienced closures and maintenance challenges from ocean overwash and undermining during storm events.
The NCDOT is leading the development of the SAND Plan with assistance from the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and other federal and local agencies.
The plan aims to minimize environmental impacts and account for community considerations and the costs and feasibility of those solutions. As a part of this, the team is using the Planning and Environment Linkages process to streamline future environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act and engage public and community stakeholders.
By addressing environmental requirements in the planning stages, project managers can avoid having to duplicate studies and tackle major environmental hurdles that could delay projects and increase the costs and time to deliver them.
At next week’s public meetings, people will be able to drop in at their convenience and speak with NCDOT representatives, who will be available to answer questions, facilitate public surveys, and receive comments.
People can submit written comments at the public meetings or by calling 984-205-6615 and entering project code 2463, by email at nc-12-access@publicinput.com or on NCDOT’s public input portal. Comments during this round of engagement must be provided by Dec. 20.
The SAND project is funded with $1.86 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient and Cost Saving Transportation, or PROTECT, grant program.
This is the second series of public meetings regarding the SAND Plan. One more round of public meetings is planned for spring 2027, and the study is expected to be finished in summer 2027. More information can be found on NCDOT’s website.