Posted on December 6, 2023
Marinex Construction Inc., a contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this week began dredging of Morehead City Inner Ocean Bar at the state port.
According to an ACE press release, the dredged material will be placed on Atlantic Beach this week. The sand is considered “beach quality.”
Dredging the Inner Ocean Bar is intended to keep one of North Carolina’s two deepwater ports – the other is in Wilmington open for shipping.
This project also features our “beneficial use” program,” the ACE release said. “Beneficial use allows us to place the beach compatible sand from the dredging effort on an adjacent beach, Atlantic Beach, to help with coastal storm risk mitigation.”
The work consists of maintenance dredging of the Morehead City Harbor federal navigation channel reaches, including the Cutoff, Range A, Range B and Range C.
The dredging will be performed by hydraulic cutter suction dredge and/or hopper dredge. The estimated quantity of material to be dredged, including allowable over-depth, is approximately 800,000 cubic yards.
The sand is piped to the beach then spread with heavy equipment.
The Carteret County Shore Protection Office, led by manager Ryan Davenport, has been working with ACE for months to get the project started.
Dredging of these areas at the port is periodic occurrence, as is placement of the sand on the Atlantic Beach strand. Town officials welcome the sand because it replaces beach width lost to erosion. Projects generally take place in the late fall and winter, in part because dredging isn’t allowed when large numbers of sea turtles in the area.
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