Posted on February 28, 2022
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – As part of the Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, crews with the Army Corps of Engineers are beginning their nourishment project in Carolina and Kure Beach.
After receiving federal funding last fall for the project, engineers cooperated with both the Town of Carolina Beach and New Hanover County to get the work started.
“There was a lot of coordination and efforts advocating to receive the funding,” said project engineer Brennan Dooley. “Eventually we were able to re-program funds and get the funds from the federal side and work with New Hanover County and the locals to get the non-federal portion.”
The beach was last nourished around four years ago in Carolina Beach.
The dredging is set to start around Hamlet Ave., making its way north before eventually heading to Kure Beach for the remainder of the project.
Project engineers and community leaders held a Town Hall on Friday afternoon, letting the locals know it’s about more than just keeping the beaches alive.
“The locals rely on their beach here and tourists come,” said Dooley. “So us being able to play a part in that is really important, and we know it’s really important to the locals in the region. So, it’s a good project.”
The renourishment project will cost nearly $20 million, and the sand will be pumped from an offshore borrowing pit off Carolina Beach.
Usually, they pump sand from the inlet in Carolina Beach, but project engineers say due to environmental concerns, they had to find a new site this year.
Dooley says that projects like these are necessary to keep coastal environments sustainable.
“These projects provide huge benefits against storm damage, flooding, preventing against erosion, and obviously that’s hugely important to the locals down here,” Dooley said. “Lots of people come to the beach, and we want to protect the infrastructure down here and keep it as a safe place for people to come.”
Pending the weather and currents, crews are expected to start dredging on Monday.
Crews will be working around the clock to finish the project, and are expected to be done by April 30th.
To track their progress and see what areas are blocked off, click here.
