Posted on December 15, 2025
Nags Head is gathering data to make a decision on beach nourishment. The town requested bids from contractors for nourishment for either 2026 or 2027. The final decision will be made based on finances and the condition of the beach.
Nags Head is gathering data to make a decision on beach nourishment. The town requested bids from contractors for nourishment for either 2026 or 2027. The final decision will be made based on finances and the condition of the beach.
Based on an active late summer and fall wave climate that resulted in noticeable oceanfront changes, commissioners authorized a beach condition survey, said town engineer David Ryan. The results of this survey will be discussed at the December 17 regularly scheduled board meeting.
When asked whether a 2027 nourishment would save the town money, Ryan said it isn’t automatically more cost-effective. Storm seasons are unpredictable. “A quiet year can make deferral sensible; however, a significant storm season could erase that advantage and increase costs or risk,” Ryan explained in a December 9 email to The Coastland Times.
“If the beach remains well above our volume triggers, deferring to 2027 can be prudent and effectively extend the interval. If monitoring shows deficits or emerging hotspots, proceeding in 2026 may avoid escalation or a larger scope later.”
Other factors to consider are the availability of dredges and rising inflation.
For a 2026 nourishment, the low base bid was received from Weeks Marine at $34.9 million, plus ad alternate items totaling $36.8 million. This was well below the engineers’ base bid estimate of $41.3 million.
If the town opts for beach nourishment in 2027, the low base bid came from Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company at $37.3 million, plus ad alternates for a total of $39.36 million.
These figures are significantly higher than prior project costs. The town’s first beach nourishment was in 2011. The current estimates are a 102% increase from the initial project and a 40% increase from the 2019 maintenance project. Main drivers for the increases are mobilization and demobilization, Ryan said.
These numbers come as no surprise to the town.
“Despite the fact that we have significant increases, we pretty well anticipated them,” said Mayor Ben Cahoon. “And so our budget pretty nearly matches what we’re going to be spending here, which is good. It’s a little less than the number I’ve been carrying around in my head for about a year, which was about 42 million.”
The flexible nature by which the town has offered the project to contractors —either 2026 or 2027—is also expected to save money. “We’ve talked to some other people in the industry, and they think that this is a better way to get the most competitive pricing,” Ryan said.
Final decisions will be made in the coming months.
The Town of Nags Head is gathering data to make a decision on the next round of beach nourishment.
