Fall has unofficially arrived on the Outer Banks as transportation officials lift lower seasonal speed limits on crowded stretches of N.C. 12.
Beginning Monday, N.C. Department of Transportation crews will reinstall offseason speed limit signs along sections of N.C. 12 on Hatteras Island, weather permitting.
Speed limits in areas through the tri-villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo and Frisco on Hatteras Island will return to 45 mph from their seasonal limits of 35 mph. Offseason speed limits also will resume in several areas of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, including near the Haulover Parking Lot south of Avon, NCDOT said in a news release.
Speed limits on the section of N.C. 12 from Duck to the Currituck County line used to change seasonally, but last year they became 35 mph year-round due to safety concerns.
Though summer tourism has slowed on the Outer Banks this month, NCDOT advises motorists to continue driving with caution, as there are still many motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians as well as many visitors through the fall months.
The lower seasonal speed limits will return in May.
