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Task force created to save NC highway prone to flooding

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A task force has been formed in an effort to save a major North Carolina highway prone to flooding in storms. 

NC Highway 12 runs from Oregon Inlet to Hatteras Village, is broken up by a ferry ride, and then continues into Ocracoke. 

67 miles of this main highway on the Outer Banks are vulnerable to storms and rising sea levels, occasionally leaving tourists stranded due to flooded roadways, reported the Courier-Tribune.

The taskforce consists of federal, state, and local agencies, who have already seen only mixed success in the building of bridges and enlargement of sand dunes in the area in an attempt to fix the flooding. 

Despite the challenges involved in saving and improving the road, Dare County manager and chairman of a subcommittee with the task force, Bobby Outten, says that saving the roadway is crucial for the nine towns and villages it connects. Additionally, the highway facilitates much of the $1.2 billion in tourism revenue in the Outer Banks each year. 

An exact plan for the repair of the roadway is yet to be determined. 

“You can’t ask anybody for money if you don’t have a plan,” Outten said.

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