North Carolina Highway 12 (NC 12) is a primary

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the U.S. state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, linking the peninsulas and islands of the northern

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...

. Most sections of NC 12 are two lanes wide, and there are also two North Carolina Ferry System routes which maintain continuity of the route as it traverses the Outer Banks region. NC 12 is part of the Outer Banks Scenic Byway, a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

. The first NC 12 appeared on the 1924 North Carolina Official Map and at its greatest length ran from NC 30 in Pollocksville to NC 48 near

Murfreesboro Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

. Over time it was replaced by both U.S. Route 258 (US 258) and

NC 58 North Carolina Highway 58 (NC 58) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina that traverses the state's Coastal Plain. The route links many of the Crystal Coast communities along its eastern segment. Its southern ter ...

and ceased to exist in 1958. The current NC 12 first appeared on the 1964 state highway map running from US 158 in

Nags Head Nag's Head or Nags Head may refer to: ;In London * Nag's Head, London, a locality in Holloway ** Nag's Head Market, a street market * Nag's Head, Covent Garden, a pub ;Elsewhere in the United Kingdom * Nag's Head Island, Abingdon-on-Thames * ...

to Ocracoke. In 1976 NC 12 was extended to

US 70 U.S. Route 70 or U.S. Highway 70 (US 70) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. It is a major east–west highway of the Southeastern, Southern and Southwestern United States. E ...

on the mainland and in 1987 was extended north to

Corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name *Corolla (headgear) A ''corolla'' is an ancient headdress in the form of a small circlet or crown. North Carolina Highway 12 begins at US 70 at the

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Sea Level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

. From there NC 12 travels Northeast along Cedar Island Road to Cedar Island. Once the road enters Cedar Island it turns northwest running along the Cedar Bay all the way to the Cedar Island-Ocracoke ferry. After arriving at Ocracoke, the road immediately runs along the western side of Silver Lake in the eastern side of the town. After leaving Ocracoke, NC 12 enters the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. NC 12 runs along the middle of the island all the way until it reaches the

Cape Hatteras Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina. Long stretches of beach, sand dunes, marshes, and maritime forests create a unique environment where wind and waves shap ...

-Ocracoke ferry in Point Beach. After arriving at Hatteras Village, NC 12 turns left onto Coast Guard Road. The route follows Coast Guard Road along the northern part of the town before turning back into NC 12. It then runs along a narrow strip of land in the middle of the island before going through Frisco. After passing through Frisco, the road goes north of the Buxton Woods Coastal Reserve before going through

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Continuing northward, it passes through the communities of Avon,

Salvo A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in one blow and prevent them from fightin ...

Waves Waves most often refers to: * Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. * Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music *Waves (ban ...

. It bypasses the community of Rodanthe using the Rodanthe Bridge. It crosses the New Inlet bridge onto

Pea Island Pea Island is an island which is part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Because of the shifting nature of the barrier island system of which Pea Island is a part, and the way in which inlets open and close over time, Pea Island has, at times, ...

and further north is the

Marc Basnight Bridge Oregon Inlet is an inlet along North Carolina's Outer Banks. It joins the Pamlico Sound with the Atlantic Ocean and separates Bodie Island from Pea Island, which are connected by the 2.8 mile Marc Basnight Bridge that spans the inlet. As one of ...

over

Oregon Inlet Oregon Inlet is an inlet along North Carolina's Outer Banks. It joins the Pamlico Sound with the Atlantic Ocean and separates Bodie Island from Pea Island, which are connected by the 2.8 mile Marc Basnight Bridge that spans the inlet. As one of th ...

, connecting Pea Island to Bodie Island. Nearby is the Bodie Island Lighthouse and visitor center. NC 12 then continues north, where it intersects US 64 and US 158 at

Whalebone Junction Whalebone Junction is an area within Nags Head, North Carolina where three major highways converge. The junction marks the eastern terminus of both U.S. 64 and U.S. Route 158, while NC 12 traverses the junction from north to south. The junction ...

, just south of the town of

. NC 12 runs through Nags Head along the

Virginia Dare Virginia Dare (born August 18, 1587, in Roanoke Colony, date of death unknown) was the first English child born in a New World English colony. What became of Virginia and the other colonists remains a mystery. The fact of her birth is known bec ...

Trail just east of US 158. The road continues north through

Kill Devil Hills Kill Devil Hills is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,633 at the 2020 census, up from 6,683 in 2010. It is the most populous settlement in both Dare County and on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The ...

, Kitty Hawk and

Southern Shores Southern Shores is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. It is located on the Outer Banks and the population was 3,107 at the 2020 census. Geography Southern Shores is located at (36.124454, -75.732612). According to the Unite ...

. The stretch from Nags Head to Southern Shores is generally known to locals as “The Beach Road”. NC 12 enters Corolla along Ocean Trail and continues along the west bank through the town. NC 12 ends just north of Corolla and south of the Currituck Banks North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve. Ferries along the route of NC 12 are operated by the North Carolina Ferry System of the

North Carolina Department of Transportation The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other modes of transportation, including ferries in the U.S. state of North Carolina. History The North Carolina ...

(NCDOT). The highway is the easternmost primary route in the state.

Outer Banks Scenic Byway

The Outer Banks Scenic Byway begins at the intersection of US 70 and Merrimon Road. The Outer Banks Scenic Byway follows US 70 East to NC 12 on Cedar Island. The byway then continues onto NC 12 North near

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The byway then crosses the Ocracoke-Cedar Island Ferry north. It follows NC 12 north the rest of the way to the intersection of US 64 and NC 12 in Nags Head where it has its northern terminus. The Outer Banks Scenic Byway spans approximately 131 miles and takes about 6 hours to drive.

History

Previous designation

NC 12 first appeared on the 1924 State highway map running from Kinston to NC 40 south of Halifax. NC 12 went from Kinston northwest to Snow Hill where it met up with NC 102. From there the road went north to

Farmville ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network game developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to '' Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plowi ...

where it met up with NC 91. From there it continued north to Scotland Neck passing through

Tarboro Tarboro is a town located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 10,721. It is the county seat of Edgecombe County. ...

. In Scotland Neck NC 12 turned to the west and ended at NC 40 south of Halifax. By 1933, NC 12 was rerouted to Rich Square and extended south to US 17/ NC 30; at the same time, US 258 was routed along of the routing of NC 12 north of Kinston. By 1935, NC 12 was truncated to Kinston with US 258 getting the routing north of Kinston. In 1958 the last portion of NC 12 south of Kinston was renumbered as NC 58.

Current designation

The current NC 12 shows up on the 1964 map running from Ocracoke to Whalebone. In 1976 NC 12 was extended onto the mainland to connect with US 70 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. A condition of the extension imposed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation is the road extends no further than Corolla.

Storm damage

NC 12 is often damaged by various storms that frequent the Outer Banks; as has happened for millennia before there was a paved road on the islands, storms will cut new inlets through the islands, or close up existing inlets with sand. Hatteras Island was cut in two on September 18, 2003 by

Hurricane Isabel Hurricane Isabel was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Mitch, and the deadliest, costliest, and most intense hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Isabel was also the strongest hurricane in the open waters of the Atlan ...

which opened a new inlet wide and deep through the community of Hatteras Village on the southern end of Hatteras Island. This new inlet was temporarily named the

Isabel Inlet Isabel Inlet was an informally named inlet along the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was created by Hurricane Isabel when it swept ashore on September 18, 2003. Hurricane Isabel's storm surge and waves created the inlet by washing out a portion ...

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 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 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 was long, was replaced in 2017 by an adjacent, more permanent structure. Meanwhile, the inlet has closed. NC 12 Sandbagging

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

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. Sandy washed out a portion of the road at the S-curves north of Rodanthe on the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Emergency ferry service was established between Rodanthe and the Stumpy Point terminals. As 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 of emergency federal funding was secured to construct a more permanent repair.

Hurricane Florence Hurricane Florence was a powerful and long-lived Cape Verde hurricane that caused catastrophic damage in the Carolinas in September 2018, primarily as a result of freshwater flooding due to torrential rain. The sixth named storm, third h ...

, which made landfall south of the Outer Banks near Wilmington on September 14, 2018, breached the protective dune system and damaged a -section of NC 12 on Ocracoke Island. The road was re-opened two weeks later, but it took several additional weeks for the damage to the road and dunes to be fully repaired.

Hurricane Dorian Hurricane Dorian was an extremely powerful and catastrophic Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, which became the most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the Bahamas, and tied for strongest landfall in the Atlantic basin. It is also rega ...

made landfall on the Outer Banks near Cape Hatteras and caused several dune breaches and closures along NC 12 in September, 2019. Damage was particularly bad on Ocracoke Island, where the road was closed for three months, cutting off access to one of the two ferry docks on the island. The damage on Ocracoke was exacerbated when additional storms damaged the dune system and the road before it could be fully repaired from the damage caused by Dorian. Despite never making landfall in the U.S., and remaining hundreds of miles off shore, Hurricane Teddy caused extensive damage to NC 12 in September 2020 due to

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

breaching the dune system, and closing the highway between Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe on Hatteras island, and another section between the northern ferry terminals and the main village on Ocracoke island. It took at least two days to repair the road. A storm in November, 2021 breached the dune system separating NC 12 from the beach; coinciding with high tide this storm caused extensive damage to NC 12 in the area between Rodanthe and Oregon Inlet, and additional damage from flooding occurred at seven other locations along Hatteras Island, isolating many of the communities of the island from the mainland and from each other. It took two days for crews to re-open the roads by clearing sand and rebuilding the breached dunes.

Rodanthe Bridge

Between 2018 and 2022, a jughandle-shaped bridge bypass of the community of Rodanthe was constructed. The bridge, known as the Rodanthe Bridge, opened on July 28, 2022, and spans of the

Pamlico Sound Pamlico Sound ( ) is a lagoon in North Carolina which is the largest lagoon along the North American East Coast, extending long and 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) wide. It is part of a large, interconnected network of lagoon estuaries that i ...

. It replaced a section of NC 12 known for frequent closures due to

overwash Overwash is the flow of water and sediment over a coastal dune or beach crest during storm events (or other situations with high water). 'Overwash' may refer only to the landward flux of water due to overtopping of a dune system while 'washover' may ...

, flooding, and sand accumulation.

Major intersections

References

External links

*
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)

NCDOT: NC Highway 12

Outer Banks Scenic Byway
{{Authority control

012 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria, South Africa See also * 12 (disambiguation) Twelve or 12 may refer to: * 12 (number) * December, the twelfth and final month of the year Years * 12 BC ...

Transportation in Carteret County, North Carolina Transportation in Hyde County, North Carolina Transportation in Dare County, North Carolina Transportation in Currituck County, North Carolina Outer Banks Historic Albemarle Tour