Spotlight on the Outer Banks: Nags Head Beach Nourishment Project

Nags Head Beach Nourishment Project

The beaches of the Outer Banks are beautiful; however, they also are extremely fragile. There are many factors that have contributed to the erosion of our beaches throughout the years, including hurricanes, nor'easters, high winds and tidal changes. Starting late May, the Town of Nags Head began dredging sand and pumping onto the shore near Jennette's Pier to help restore our beautiful beaches.

Once finished, the project will have "nourished" 10 miles of the Nags Head Coastline. Currently, 9,000 feet of beach has been completed between mile post 15 and Jennette's pier and construction is moving forward better than expected.


Here's the latest news on the progress of the project:
The first dredge to arrive on the project, the Liberty Island, started in the vicinity of Mile Post 15.5 and has finished just past Jennette's Pier. The dredge is now located offshore near the Hargrove public beach access. Construction associated with the Liberty Island is now moving north from about the Hargrove beach access to the area just south of Jennette's Pier. After finishing near Jennette's Pier, the Liberty Island will move south again towards the Outer Banks Pier.

On Tuesday June 21, an additional dredge, the Texas, arrived from Norfolk and began pumping sand in south Nags Head. Construction related to the Texas is currently scheduled to first move north from Oregon Street, near Surfside Drive, to the Outer Banks Pier, where construction will meet work associated with the Liberty Island dredge.

The project plan calls for widening the beach by an average of ~50 to 150 feet. After initial construction, the beach may appear wider than expected because sand can only be placed on the upper part of the beach profile (say to 6 ft depth or so). Nature will redistribute sand to match a natural profile, meaning some sand will move offshore in the underwater portion of the beach profile (to ~20 ft deep). This does not mean the beach is losing sand; rather, the profile is adjusting following nourishment. The beach width will naturally decrease initially after the project. Obviously sand will erode from the project area over time, but with the sand closely matching the natural beach, erosion rates should be similar to what has been observed over recent years.

For the latest updates and schedules visit www.townofnagshead.net

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Nags Head
• Beach
• Nourishment
• Real Estate
• OBX
• Outer Banks
• Erosion