Tagged: Hatteras Island

Hurricane damaged Highway 12 on Hatteras Island is the subject of two public workshops this week. The only road along parts of the Outer Banks was breached in several places by Hurricane Irene in August. Traffic is rolling again on temporary fixes, but state officials want to move forward with permanent repairs. Greer Beatty works for North Carolina's Department of Transportation.

Residents of Hatteras Island will be allowed to return home today.

State officials plan to install a temporary bridge on Hatteras Island's North Carolina Highway 12. Hurricane Irene caused a number of breaches along the road, and the structure will be erected across the largest such impasse. Greer Beatty is a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Greer Beatty: "We're bringing in a temporary bridge, we've already ordered it. It's being shipped right now in trucks, it'll take about 35 truckloads to get all of it here, and we'll get it assembled and put it into place."

Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands remain cut off from the mainland after Hurricane Irene dumped water and sand on several parts of Highway 12. There are several breaches in the highway just north of Rodanthe. Governor Bev Perdue says officials are doing all they can.

A subsidized housing facility for teachers opens on Hatteras Island today in an effort to lure talent to Dare County schools. The Dare Education Foundation held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this afternoon in Buxton for a building with 12 reduced-rent apartments. The island has two public schools with a total of nearly 600 students. Dare Education Foundation executive director Elizabeth Piff says teachers on Hatteras Island have a hard time finding housing they can afford. As a result, a given class can sometimes have four different teachers in the course of one school year.