N.C. Highway 12 at the Pea Island Visitor Center was mostly dry overnight from Sunday into Monday. Hatteras Island remains under a state of emergency.
The highway is expected to reopen on Pea Island to northbound traffic Wednesday morning, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation.
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N.C. 12 reopened at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the north end of Ocracoke Island.
The section of highway between the Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe has been closed since early Thursday, when a 1,000-foot section of pavement near the Pea Island Visitor Center was damaged during a recent nor'easter.
NCDOT crews worked to construct a protective sand dune along the highway to create a detour lane.
The temporary detour will initially be open only to northbound traffic until congestion clears. NCDOT warned that traffic volume is expected to be very high upon reopening and urged motorists to be patient and drive with caution.
There is no timeline for when the southbound lanes will reopen. The emergency ferry between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point will remain on its 24-hour schedule until further notice.
Residents of Ocracoke Island in Hyde County should travel through Hatteras Island to return to Ocracoke via ferry service.
The ferry will run between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point at the following times:
Rodanthe to Stumpy Point: 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Stumpy Point to Rodanthe: 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Under Dare County's current entry restrictions, visitors are not allowed on ferries headed to Rodanthe or Hatteras.
Transportation officials recommended that the public wait one to two days, if possible, before trying to leave the island by ferry because lines are long and the ferry holds only about 25 vehicles.
Restricted access remains in place for Priority One and Priority Two individuals.