Posted on March 3, 2020
PINE KNOLL SHORES — The $28.2 million Bogue Banks beach nourishment project pushed west from Atlantic Beach into Pine Knoll Shores Thursday, beginning the longest stretch of work in the project.
The town’s 4-plus miles of beach are to receive 990,000 cubic yards of sand, about half of the 2 million cubic yards in the whole project.
Greg Rudolph, manager of the Carteret County Shore Protection Office, said the contractor, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. of Illinois, continued working through thick fog Wednesday and strong winds Thursday after a cold front passed through the area Wednesday night.
The work in Atlantic Beach ended late Thursday, and Great Lakes began preparing for Pine Knoll Shores.
“Pumping operations will transition over to (a pipe landing) east of Memorial Park,” Mr. Rudolph said late Thursday afternoon. “Nourishment will progress east of this point,” moving back to connect to the already-finished Atlantic Beach segment.
After that’s done, the contractor will move west from the Memorial Park area.
In addition, Mr. Rudolph said, Great Lakes is likely to install another pipe landing just east of the Iron Steamer Pier beach access over the weekend.
“I keep saying this, but the project has been going excellent thus far,” Mr. Rudolph said in an email. “Saturday will mark three full weeks since we first started.”
Atlantic Beach got 520,000 cubic yards of sand during the period, from just west of The Circle development district to the boundary with Pine Knoll Shores.
Next up is a small area of Salter Path, at the state-owned county beach access, which will receive 145,000 cubic yards.
The final segment of the project, in Emerald Isle roughly from the Land’s End clubhouse to just east of the Western Ocean Regional Access, is to get 345,000 cubic yards, for a project total of about 2 million cubic yards along 9.5 miles of beach.
Great Lakes works 24 hours a day, seven days a week when not stopped for resupply or because of inclement weather.
Thus far, all the work has been done by the Liberty Island, which has a holding capacity of 6,500 cubic yards of wet sand.
Sometime during the Pine Knoll Shores work, the Ellis Island dredge boat, with a capacity of 15,000 cubic yards, will join the project in order to complete the work by Wednesday, April 1.
Contact Brad Rich at 252-864-1532; email Brad@thenewstimes.com; or follow on Twitter @brichccnt.
Source:carolinacoastonline.com
