Posted on October 5, 2026
Beach nourishment and groin repair work have resumed in Buxton following last week’s nor’easter, with the nourishment project now expected to be completed during the first week of October.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company announced that the Liberty Island returned to the project site earlier this week and has resumed work on the approximately 250,000 cubic yards of sand that remained to be placed before the storm.
Great Lakes suspended nourishment operations last week ahead of the nor’easter, sending both dredges working on the project — the Liberty Island and Amelia Island — to safe harbor as weather and marine conditions deteriorated.
The Amelia Island will not return to Buxton, and the Liberty Island will complete the remaining nourishment work. Once pumping operations are fully underway, the work is expected to take approximately seven days, weather and marine conditions permitting.
The weather-related pause pushed the anticipated completion of the project from the end of September into the first week of October.
Once complete, approximately 2 million cubic yards of sand will have been placed along roughly 2.9 miles of Buxton’s oceanfront, extending from the Haulover Day Use Area to just south of the Buxton Beach Access.
Before the storm, nourishment had been completed along the developed portion of Buxton, including construction of the project’s protective dune and berm. The remaining work primarily consists of widening the beach farther north within Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Buxton experienced minimal oceanside flooding during the nor’easter, and no ocean overwash was reported along N.C. 12 in the village for the duration of the storm.
Work has also resumed on the $8.6 million Buxton Terminal Groin Repair Project. Crews with SJ Hamill Construction Company are currently removing sheet piles and constructing the temporary trestle that will support the ongoing repair work.
The groin project calls for deteriorated portions of the existing structure to be removed and replaced with new steel sheet piling and large armor stone. Before the storm, substantial completion remained anticipated by Dec. 15, with overall completion expected by the end of 2026, weather and material delivery schedules permitting.
A temporary safety closure remains in place around the groin construction site, extending approximately 300 feet north and south of the structure and into the adjacent ocean area.
