Posted on December 8, 2021
BEAUFORT — Carteret County didn’t get any bids to open Thursday for a proposed project to dredge east Taylor’s Creek and use the sand to nourish the public beach and other areas on Radio Island.
Gene Foxworth, county planning director, said Friday the county did get some “interest” from potential bidders, but no official bids.
“We will readvertise and plan to hold another opening shortly,” Mr. Foxworth said in an email.
The deadline for the new round of bids is 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 15.
The county has a $1.3 million grant from the N.C. Shallow Draft Navigation Channel Dredging and Aquatic Weed Fund Grant for the estimated $1.95 million project, as well as a $650,000 U.S. Department of Defense grant to use as the local match. The state fund, which gets revenue from boat title fees and the boat fuel tax, pays two-thirds of the cost of such projects.
The county has been planning the project for several years. Initially, the idea was to dredge and realign east Taylor’s Creek to match the rest of the waterway, along the Beaufort waterfront, and to deposit the spoils on the Atlantic Veneer property on Lennoxville Road in Beaufort. However, Hurricane Florence in 2018 caused severe erosion along parts of Radio Island, so the County Shore Protection Office changed the plan this year to place the dredged material along Marine Road, which the U.S. Navy uses, and where erosion threatens two power poles.
In addition, material would be placed along the eroded county beach access on the island, which is heavily used by military families.
The goal has been to start the work by January. It must be finished by the Friday, April 1 environmental deadline.
The plan is to use a 3.5-mile-long pipeline dredge to carry the material from the creek to the island. The spoils are to be spread roughly from Old Town Yacht Club southward, parallel to Marine Road, to the landing craft utility ramp and bulkhead, approximately 2,800 linear feet.
When the county got the DoD grant, Mr. Foxworth called the project “an essential step in helping to guard infrastructure against further damage and supporting public access to the beach on the north end.”
