The ongoing repaving project of roads and parking areas in the three Outer Banks national parks has shifted to Bodie Island, and will require traffic on N.C. 12 to detour through South Nags Head for about two weeks.
Starting Monday, Oct. 28, contractors for the Federal Highway Administration’s pavement preservation project will move to the 4.5 mile stretch of highway between the Seashore entrance at Whalebone Junction and the South Old Oregon Inlet Road.
They will place a layer of asphalt pavement overlay on top of the existing pavement, which protects and lengthens the life of the existing pavement.
Both lanes of N.C. 12 will be closed during the work, and traffic will detour along South Old Oregon Inlet Road, to minimize traffic delays associated with the project.
In April, the FHWA began a $6.9 million, year-long project to preserve approximately 43 miles of paved roads and parking areas within Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and Wright Brothers National Memorial.
“Pavement preservation contractors, Bryant’s Land & Development Industries, Inc. of Burnsville, N.C., have spent several months working on many paved roads and parking areas on Hatteras and Bodie islands,” said National Park Service spokesperson Mike Barber.
Barber said Tuesday that resurfacing has already been completed at Cape Point and Frisco campgrounds, Coquina Beach access parking areas, Sandy Bay Sound Access parking area, and Lighthouse Road in Buxton.
He noted that chip sealing some areas within Fort Raleigh National Historic Site recently got underway.
“No work has been done at Wright Brothers National Memorial or Ocracoke Island,” Barber said. “The project was supposed to start on Ocracoke Island after the contractor’s summer break, but plans changed due to Hurricane Dorian.”
