Posted on November 4, 2026
After hearing a presentation from County Manager Rebecca Gay on the final Beach Management Plan at their Nov. 2 meeting, the Currituck County Commissioners approved moving forward with research, including a survey, on a proposed beach nourishment project.
The final draft, released on Oct. 30, identified four beach areas known as Reaches and recommended a beach nourishment as a solution for the North Corolla Reach. The Outer Banks Voice – Currituck County unveils final Beach Management Plan.
In her remarks to the Commissioners, Gay noted that project, which would place 2 million cubic yards of sand on the beach, would cost an estimated $35 million. While the presentation showed a project timeline with construction starting in the period from July-October 2028, Gay said it was more likely to begin in the summer of 2029.
Until now, Currituck County has been the only coastal county in North Carolina that has not used beach nourishment to maintain its shoreline, and county commissioners have contended that it is too expensive and will not be supported by mainland residents of the county, where the majority of voters live. The Outer Banks Voice – As Currituck works on Beach Management Plan, beach nourishment seems unlikely
But views on the subject vary by location. At an Aug. 12 meeting on beach nourishment, some Corolla and Carova residents sharply criticized the county’s beach protection efforts. One attendee asserted that “it is distressing that we keep hearing commissioners saying that nobody on the mainland will ever pay a penny towards this, even though they reap the benefits.”
Much of the discussion at the Nov. 2 meeting focused on the creation of a Service District where the beach nourishment would occur and which would be taxed to help fund that work. While there is no determination yet on what would be included in the Service District, the consensus among the Commissioners is that residents should be surveyed to gauge their sentiment on the idea.
In his remarks, Commissioner Tony Angell, who represents the Currituck Outer Banks, stressed the importance of moving ahead with beach nourishment to avoid the kind of damage to oceanfront properties that could impact everyone’s property values.
“There is a concern over there,” Angell said. “We had washovers on the last Nor’easter. The property values over there do offset everybody else’s property values. Not taking care of the area could cost everybody on the mainland more money.”
For his part, Commissioner Chair Paul O’Neal pointed out that Dare County has spent $375 million for beach nourishment, and stated that “at some point, it might be a matter of relocating some buildings.” He also stressed that residents of the Currituck mainland would not be taxed for the beach nourishment project.
