www.morebeachtolove.com This site will update progress. Nearly $40 million budget for project. I'm curious how fast that $40m will wash back out to sea
Man, the things our county could do with $40 billion buh. The local harbor got $26 mil in Fed funds to dredge 3.5 million yards of material to facilitate the entry of larger ships (think large freighters and tankers), some of which is being repurposed near an extinct surf break. Either Dare County is moving an enormous amount of material, or the cost of business there is outrageous.
I know you meant 40 million. They are talking an enormous amount of material. Sad thing is, it will all wash away in about 3 years. CB and Kure do a dredging replenishment every three years. After two years there is very little to no beach at high tide at Sunskipper. at 2.5 years, we usually lose three beach access points. The only beach replenishment I have seen work was at Fripp Island, South Carolina. It's now a half mile walk to the ocean from the last row of beach houses. Somebody somewhere is losing a lot of sand.
I don't agree with the dredging and the odds are good it will destroy some good breaks in that area, and directly south of there. But you can understand why they are doing it. They're trying to bide some time. Eventually there won't be a beach road through kitty hawk or parts of northern KDH. It's the natural progression, the island moves to the west as sea levels rise and to the east as the sea level drops. Just as it has done for millions of years. Also the sand will predominately be moved south, and not offshore. The predominant long shore current moves from north to south, and as such most of the sand will move with that predominant current. Over time this sand will make it's way all the way down to the sand spits at oregon inlet, which would've closed off a dozen times or more by now if they didn't constantly dredge it. Historically, inlets would open and close on the outer banks during big storms. New inlets were born and old ones disappeared. Replenshing in Kitty Hawk will have an effect on all of the beaches to the south of kitty hawk. A longer term project would be replenishing not just kitty hawk, but the beaches north of kitty hawk, which would then allow that sand to fill in at kitty hawk when the sand they are replenshing there now moves south. The problem is, in general, it's not profitable to worry about the future so much as it is this next upcoming beach season.
It can't make it any worse. The sandbars to north and south of Jeanette's Pier (for miles and miles) are absolutely horrid. There are/were a few here and there but you've gotta search. Having said that, dredging where I live and typically surf has never ever made it better.
LOL, I like how all of the 'nourishment' will take place during summer tourist beach-goer season. Those beaches are gonna be so crappy to visit just afterwards. Probably gonna screw a lot of local business and revenue.
