The N.C. Department of Transportation today has about 2,000 members of its staff working to clear roads and bridges of the debris left behind from Hurricane Irene. Most coastal counties are awaiting official disaster declarations before debris can be hauled. Here are details from the regions affected by the storm:
Beaufort County:
• The primary roads on the north side of the river are open, and primary roads on the south side of the river are all passable, but several locations have power lines entangled with trees.
• All secondary roads are open on the north side of the river except for localized power line issues; work to clear debris is under way on the south side of the river.
• The bridge going toward the Aurora ferry terminal has been severely damaged and is not crossable at this time.
• The dock at the Aurora ferry terminal, which was damaged in the storm, should be repaired on Wednesday. The shoulder and some pavement is washed out along a section of N.C. 306 leading to the ferry terminal.
Bertie County
• N.C. 308 at Brimerage Road has shoulder washout over a pipe and water line.
• Six secondary routes remain flooded.
• NCDOT expects to clear all routes by the end of the day today, with the exception of five secondary routes and two primary routes, U.S. 13 and N.C. 45, where power crews have to clear lines tangled in downed trees. Crews are cutting back debris and clearing it from the right of way.
• There is guardrail damage on at least three primary routes due to fallen trees. Guardrail damage is still being assessed on secondary routes.
Camden County: All roads are open.
Carteret County: All primary and secondary roads are open to traffic. There is no known infrastructure damage at this time.
Chowan County: All roads are open.
Craven County:
• All primary roads will be clear of debris by this afternoon with the exception of locations with utility line issues.
• Three roads in the Vanceboro are closed due to flooding.
• There is no known infrastructure damage at this time.
Currituck County: All roads are open.
Dare County: Most roads in Dare, except in Rodanthe and Hatteras, are open. The following are status updates for individual sites:
• U.S. 264 (Stumpy Point): Road currently closed due to collapsed culverts. A sinkhole has formed between Stumpy Point and the Hyde County line. Repairs are under way..
N.C. 12: Most areas of the road are clear, and crews are pushing up dunes.
N.C. 12 (Rodanthe Breach): Surveys are being done today.
N.C. 12 Hatteras: Clear, but repairs are being made to dunes and minor pavement issues.
N.C. 12 Duck: Open; rip rap is being put in place to stabilize the area.
Google map shows the key areas of interest on N.C. 12: http://g.co/maps/9y2w.
Gates County: All roads are open.
Greene County:
• All roads are clear with the exception of a few locations with utility line issues.
• There is no known infrastructure damage at this time.
Hertford County:
U.S. 258 is closed just north of Rose Road due to a pipe washout.
There is flooding on four secondary routes.
All routes are clear to the edge of pavement with the exception of seven secondary routes and one primary route where there are power lines in downed trees. The roads cannot be cleared until the power company removes the lines.
Debris is being cut back and cleared from the right of way.
Hyde County/Mainland:
• All roads are open.
• A large tree on N.C. 45 uprooted and damaged pavement.
On N.C. 94, a pipe has washed out to the edge of pavement on the canal side.
N.C. 94 has erosion to the edge of the pavement on the canal side.
Hyde County/Ocracoke: Crews are working to clear a 3-mile section of sand-covered pavement. It is not clear yet whether any pavement has been lost in the area.
Jones County:
• All primary and secondary roads are clear and open to traffic.
• There is no known infrastructure damage at this time.
Lenoir County:
• All roads should be clear by this afternoon with the exception of the locations where power lines are entangled in trees.
• There is no known infrastructure damage at this time.
Martin County: All primary roads are open; two secondary roads are still flooded.
Northampton County:
• Primary routes are all clear of debris at or beyond the edge of pavement.
• Trees and branches are being cut back and pushed into woods where possible. Engineers believe it could take a month to fully clear primary routes, not including debris brought to the roadway by property owners.
• No damage to any highway structures or pavement on the primary system.
• Nearly all secondary routes are clear of debris at or beyond the edge of pavement. There are a few routes with trees tangled in power lines that are partially blocking the roadway. All of these routes are still passible.
• One pipe will require replacement.
• Major shoulder washout at Doolittle Mill Road.
Pamlico County:
• All roads will be clear of debris and open to traffic this afternoon with the exception of N.C. 55 between Stonewall and Oriental where there are several power poles across the road.
• There is no known infrastructure damage at this time.
Pasquotank County: Creek Road closed due to high water. All other roads are open.
Perquimans County: All roads are open.
Pitt County:
• All roads will be clear of debris by this afternoon with the exception of areas where power lines are entangled in trees.
• There are three roads in the Grifton area and one in Grimesland closed because of flooding.
• There is no major infrastructure damage, but there is some guardrail damage and shoulder washouts.
Tyrrell County:
• All roads are open.
• Several areas are still flooded.
Washington County:
• All roads are open.
• Low-lying areas in the Creswell/Cherry area are still under water.
Elsewhere:
Most roads and bridges are open in Division 4, which covers Edgecombe, Halifax, Johnston, Nash, Wayne and Wilson counties. In Halifax County, crews are working on N.C. 903 in Scotland Neck to fix a pipe that was damaged. Crews continue to work on I-95 to be sure that the roadway is clear.
In Division 3, all primary roads in the southeastern counties are open, but several secondary roads remain closed because of trees and power lines on the roads. The division covers Brunswick, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender and Sampson counties. In Pender County, the North East Cape Fear River has not yet reached its crest. It is being monitored because of its potential to cause some flooding on N.C. 53.