MANNS HARBOR (NCN News) — More than 1,900 people used the state’s emergency ferry route to get between the Outer Banks and the mainland after last month’s nor’easter, according to the final ridership figures from the N.C. Ferry Division.
The N.C. Ferry Division quickly established the emergency ferry between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point in Dare County once crews were able to determine the degree of the storm damage to N.C. 12 on Pea Island. The route helped create a travel connection as state transportation crews worked to restore and reopen N.C. 12 on Pea Island.
From Sept. 27-30, the emergency ferry route ran on a three-boat schedule 24 hours a day and carried 1,901 passengers and 998 vehicles, and made a total of 67 departures.
“The emergency ferry route helped reestablish an important transportation lifeline for our coastal residents and businesses,” said N.C. Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon in a press release. “We’re grateful to all our federal, state and local partners for helping put this route in place in just a few days.”
The route helped move critical goods, essential personnel and permanent residents while road access was severed.
This marked the first time the state Ferry Division had stood up the emergency ferry route since 2013.