Kitty Hawk Beach during a storm. Kitty Hawk is particularly vulnerable to ocean encroachment.Beach nourishment is back on track and will begin in the spring of 2017. Originally scheduled to begin for the towns of Duck, Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills in April of this year, initial bids were $4 million over estimates and were rejected.
A number of officials expressed the view that the dredging companies qualified to handle the task were tied up with a major project on the Mississippi River this year and did not feel an urgency to place competitive bids.
It would appear as though that was the case. The winning bid from Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company was $4.9 million less than the $43 million set aside for the project. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company was the company that handled the Nags Head project in 2011.
Beach nourishment is being funded through an intralocal agreement requiring the towns to pay 40% of the cost and the county picking up the rest of the tab. The towns have created Municipal Service Districts (MSD) with properties closest to the beach paying additional property tax.
In Dare County, the Nags Head was the pioneer in beach nourishment. Although there have been some issues with sand encroaching on properties, there has been no property damage caused by ocean overwash since the town's project was completed in 2011.
If all goes as planned nourishment will begin in April of 2017.
Anticipated Project Schedule Provided by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company:
Town of Duck
Start Date: April 1, 2017
End Date: June 1, 2017
Town of Kitty Hawk
Start Date: June 1, 2017
End Date: August 20, 2017
Town of Kill Devil Hill
Start Date: August 20, 2017
End Date: October 10, 2017
