Posted on March 23, 2021
EMERALD ISLE — The largest hopper dredge in the U.S. arrived in Carteret County as expected Tuesday and got to work right away on the 2-million-cubic-yard Emerald Isle beach nourishment project.
The Ellis Island, owned by contractor Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. of Illinois, went straight to the sand borrow site off Atlantic Beach, sucked up a load of material and carried it to a pipeline just west of Bogue Inlet Pier.
“The first load hit the beach at 8 p.m. last night and the second load around 3 clock this morning,” Greg Rudolph, manager of the County Shore Protection Office, said in an email Wednesday morning.
The Liberty Island has had some mechanical problems, which is why there was no activity over the weekend. It was expected to be fully operational again Wednesday and will now focus on discharging sand to a pipeline just east of the pier.
In his email, Mr. Rudolph urged anyone on the beach in the area of work to be cognizant that “beach nourishment is a gigantic 24-hour, 7-days-a-week construction effort” and to be safe and respectful of the flags set up to keep beachgoers out of harm’s way.
The $31.6 million project totals 9.4 linear miles of beach, with 166,350 cubic yards of sand to be deposited in the extreme western strand off Coast Guard Road, 708,750 cubic yards to the east of that, 537,750 cubic yards near the center of town and 600,000 cubic yards in the extreme east.
With the addition of the Ellis Island, Mr. Rudolph said he expects the work to end by the deadline, which is set up to protect sea turtles in area waters. A trawler travels in front of each dredge to catch and move any sea turtles it encounters before then.
Contact Brad Rich at 252-864-1532; email Brad@thenewstimes.com; or follow on Twitter @brichccnt.
