Start of school year means a ‘ferry’ unique commute for Knotts Island students

A school bus takes the Currituck-Knotts Island ferry across the Currituck Sound. State officials created the ferry route in 1962 for the safety and convenience of school kids in the isolated community. (Photo courtesy North Carolina Department of Transportation)

By Submitted Story

North Carolina Department of Transportation

KNOTTS ISLAND — It’s 4 p.m. on a school day, and in Currituck County, one of the state’s most unique school bus rides is about to begin, as buses carrying the middle and high school students of Knotts Island board an N.C. ferry for a 45-minute cruise across Currituck Sound.

However, it’s not the charm of the ferry ride that caused state officials to create the Currituck-Knotts Island route back in 1962.

The route was established for the safety and convenience of students.

Knotts Island is tucked into the far northeastern corner of the state, and the only way to get there by road is a drive of more than an hour through rural portions of Chesapeake, Virginia. The roads on that route are curvy, two-lane roads with little or no room for error.

For crewmembers, the school runs in the morning and afternoon mean a fully loaded ferry, crowded lounges and added responsibility for some extra special cargo.

“It’s a unique route in our system,” said N.C. Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon. “We serve commuters and visitors and kids and adults all across eastern North Carolina, but Currituck-Knotts Island was specifically created to make sure Knotts Island students can get to and from school safely.”

By 4:45 p.m., the ferry, the buses and the kids are safely back on Knotts Island. And while the reason for the route is the school commute, the Currituck-Knotts Island ferry has become a part of daily life for residents of all ages in the close-knit, coastal community.

A student, a parent and a Currituck-Knotts Island ferry crewmember speak about the ferry route. (Video courtesy North Carolina Department of Transportation)

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