Posted on June 21, 2022
After two and half years of planning, designing, permitting, and selecting contractors, construction of the Avon Village beach nourishment commenced on schedule this summer. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company (GLDD) used America’s largest hopper dredge, the Ellis Island, to deliver the first load on Cape Hatteras National Seashore in front of the Village of Avon at 1:40 p.m. on Sunday, June 19, 2022. Throughout the rest of afternoon, Dare County Commissioner Danny Couch along with other members of the general public watched the dredge as she was setting up and pumping slurry through the submerged pipeline.
The discharge point is located between Ocean View Drive and Greenwood Place (approximately 1 mile south of the Avon Pier). Construction will proceed south for ~3,200 ft to the end of the village (just north of ORV Ramp #38). GLDD estimates it will take 10–15 days to complete this section.
After the southernmost section of the project is completed, GLDD will return to the discharge point between Ocean View Drive and Greenwood Place to begin pumping north for ~3,300 ft toward the Avon Pier to Yucca Street. Afterward, the dredge will use another subline located north of the Avon Pier to complete the rest of the project.
Nourishment sand is excavated from a borrow area located 2–3 miles offshore. The new sand is similar in texture to the native beach but slightly darker. It will soon be bleached by the sun over the next few weeks to the point that the nourished beach and the native beach will be indistinguishable.
