Posted on November 19, 2025
After years of coordinated engagement among several coastal agencies, a winter dredging campaign is slated for the 2025–2026 season to safeguard year-round access to Ocracoke Island and the greater Outer Banks.
As detailed in a press release from Ocracoke Access Alliance, the project will target two trouble-prone corridors: Sloop Channel in Hatteras Inlet and Big Foot Slough in Pamlico Sound.
These spots are essential to reliable ferry operations, emergency response and the island’s tourism-driven economy, local officials say.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will conduct the dredging efforts through their contractor, supported by Hyde County and financed through the North Carolina Shallow Draft Navigation Channel Dredging and Aquatic Weed Fund.
Why dredging matters this winter
Shifting shoals, storms, and long-period swell frequently choke the navigation routes that connect Ocracoke with Hatteras and the mainland. When channels pinch—sometimes by mere inches—ferries are forced to reduce loads, wait on favorable tides or cancel runs outright.
Winter is the most practical time to perform dredging when traffic is lighter and contractors can work between weather systems to restore depths ahead of spring and summer demand. It is also the window allowed for dredging to avoid harm to protected species.
In Sloop Channel in Hatteras Inlet, theUSACE will fund the dredge project for the 100-foot-wide, federally authorized channel in Sloop Channel (between Ocracoke and Hatteras) to the congressionally authorized 10-foot depth, restoring a reliable path through one of the inlet’s most dynamic choke points.
Cottrell Contracting out of Chesapeake, Virginia, was awarded the dredging contract and has worked on Ocracoke before. In parallel, Hyde County, with the Shallow Draft fund, will finance an additional 50 feet on either side of the federal cut, also using Cotrell.
The combined 200-foot working width is intended to improve maneuverability and reduce the frequency of emergency closures when wind and current stack shoals against the banks.
“Restoring these cuts each winter is how we keep Ocracoke connected,” said Randal Mathews, chair of the Hyde County Board of Commissioners. “The added width at Sloop Channel will make a real difference when wind and tide don’t cooperate.”
On the Pamlico Sound side, USACE and Cottrell will focus on Big Foot slough this year.
To better “follow the deepest water,” in future years, USACE is finalizing an Environmental Assessment that will expand the dredge template so crews can work either Big Foot Slough or Nine-Foot Channel as conditions dictate.
That flexibility is designed to keep the Swan Quarter–Ocracoke and Cedar Island–Ocracoke routes open and predictable, even as the shoaling patterns migrate with storms and seasons.
Dredging is expected to begin in early January with active dredging scheduled through the winter maintenance window, weather permitting. Crews will sequence work to minimize impacts on ferry operations.
The recent government shutdown did not delay the finalization of paperwork necessary for this work to begin, noted Justin LeBlanc, executive director of the Ocracoke Access Alliance.
Restored depths in these channels should create more reliable ferry service by reducing weather-related cancellations and loading limits, particularly during strong crosscurrents, LeBlanc said.
“With ferries carrying residents, workers, students, visitors, and essential goods, steady access underpins livelihoods on Ocracoke Island as well as across the Outer Banks and mainland Hyde County,” he said. “This winter’s dredging plan is a practical, partnership-driven investment in Ocracoke’s future. By restoring depths in Sloop Channel and Big Foot Slough, and by widening the working corridor where it matters most, the project aims to deliver safer transits, fewer cancellations and a more resilient connections for the island when the 2026 season begins.”
The partnership between Dare and Hyde counties, the NC Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) and the USACE brings together federal capability and state-local initiative.
Hyde County is a Tier 1 county, a designation by the N.C. Department of Commerce that puts Hyde among the most economically distressed, with Tier 3 as the least distressed. A year ago, the N.C. Legislature exempted Hyde from having to fund a local match when applying for money from the Shallow Draft Fund, which provides the state’s share of the costs associated with dredging projects in state waters. Sloop Channel is in state waters, while Big Foot Slough is in federal waters.
“This layered approach is increasingly seen as a model for coastal communities facing dynamic waterways and constrained budgets,” LeBlanc said.
What mariners and travelers should know
- Ferry Operations: The NC Ferry Division will announce any temporary schedule changes or loading adjustments tied to dredging movements. Most work is planned to preserve regular service.
- Navigation Notices: Commercial and recreational boaters should monitor Local Notices to Mariners and heed any temporary markers, safety zones, or speed restrictions near active dredges.
- Environmental Stewardship: All work will proceed under applicable state and federal permits. Timing, methods, and placement sites are selected to protect the environment while preserving the region’s navigational lifelines.
For updates: Travelers should check NC Ferry Division advisories before departure. Mariners should consult the latest “Local Notice to Mariners” and observe on-scene instructions near dredging operations
The Environmental Assessments conducted by the Army Corps for these projects can be found at: https://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Missions/Navigation/Dredging/Environmental_Assessments/
The next meeting of the Ocracoke Waterways Commission is at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19 in the Ocracoke Community Center and Livestreamed on Hyde County Public Information Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/HydeCountyNC
Information on the Dare County Waterways Commission can be found at: https://www.darenc.gov/departments/planning/grants-waterways/hatteras-inlet/dare-county-waterways-commission
