N.C. 12: The end of the road

North Carolina Highway 12 is a stark example of our battle with sea level rise and climate change. A two-lane road that runs the length of the Outer Banks, N..C. 12 is crucial to the region’s economy and is a lifeline for residents. But sections of the road are repeatedly flooded or washed away by storms that are growing more intense. The state has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to save Highway 12. This series looks at how the road came to be, how it changed the lives of the people who use it, and what the future might bring. New stories will be added throughout the week.

Laya Barley doesn’t know what she will do this fall if a hurricane blows into the Outer Banks.

Barley is from Buxton, the kind of small town where she knows the middle names of each of the 54 students she graduated from high school alongside this spring, as well as where their grandparents sit during basketball games.

Buxton faces continual […]