North Carolina's only state-funded boat dock for commercial and recreational fishermen opened Friday as cold Outer Banks wind whipped off the Croatan Sound.

The $5.7 million facility offers 600 feet of bulkhead, three launching ramps, a platform for unloading gear and fish catch, shoreline docks, gravel parking areas and green space for picnicking and wildlife viewing.

With the wind chill factor in the teens, officials quickly cut a ribbon and retreated to a nearby community building for comments. The ceremony drew some of North Carolina's most prominent administrators of outdoor-related agencies.

"What a project," said Gordon Myers, director of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. "There were a lot of people concerned we would never get these sides together."

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