Posted on April 14, 2025
Caswell Beach finally received some good news this week when it comes to sand.
On Monday, Town Manager Joseph Pierce said the Army Corps of Engineers is in the process of awarding a contract for its Wilmington Harbor Inner Ocean Bar project, which will include the placement of 700,000 cubic yards of sand along Caswell Beach. Pierce told town commissioners that four bids came in for the project earlier this month, according to ACE Engineer Bob Kiestler, and Norfolk Dredging Company is expected to be awarded the $25.3 million contract.
“ACE is working through the contract in the award process right now,” Pierce said during the April 7 agenda work session. “They anticipate a contract at the end of April or early May. In this solicitation, they’ve estimated a quantity of up to 700,000 cubic yards will be placed on Caswell Beach.”
ACE delayed the project at the end of 2024 after initial bids came in way higher than expected, which ended any chance of Caswell Beach and Oak Island receiving new sand in the 2024-25 environmental window. If the current contract is approved, Norfolk Dredging can operate in the area from Nov. 16 to April 30, 2026. Pierce said there no longer are any gaps along Caswell Beach in the ACE’s current plans, meaning the 700,000 cubic yards will stretch from the Baptist Assembly to McGlamery Street.
“That will be nice,” said Pierce. “They never really could answer why there was a gap, but they eventually came back and said they were going to take it out.”
Caswell Beach is considered a “disposal site,” Mayor George Kassler said, as opposed to a “nourishment site.”
Oak Island entered into an agreement last year with ACE to purchase additional sand from the project, and Commissioner Dan O’Neill asked what would happen if the town decided it didn’t want what could be up to 600,000 cubic yards.
“I’ve proposed that question,” Pierce said. “If Oak Island decides not to purchase it, can they place it on our beach, which would bolster our beach even more? I don’t know. It’s definitely worth asking the question.”
Kassler said the ACE is going to dredge whatever amount of sand it needs to from the channel to keep it clear. Caswell Beach is considered a “disposal site” as compared to a “nourishment site,” he said, and that makes a big difference financially.
“(The ACE) is going to half do (the project),” said Kassler. “Not for $25 million. Nourishment is there to protect the beach and dunes, where disposal is just clearing channels. (The extra sand) would be a good buy for (Oak Island).”
Caswell Beach Commissioners will hold their regular monthly meeting at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, at Caswell Beach Town Hall.
