Northern Dare Beaches Project

Description and Overview

The Northern Dare Beaches Storm Damage Reduction and Erosion Control Project
is currently the only large-scale erosion control project that has been planned and
reviewed by the various state and federal agencies for which permits have been issued. 

The Northern Dare Beaches Project is a partnership between
the project sponsor Dare County and the Army Corps of Engineers.

The project is designed and managed by the Wilmington District Corps of Engineers. It is a beach nourishment project where material is to be dredged from offshore borrow areas and placed on the beach strand.

The project is divided into three phases or "Reaches". The southern portion of Reach 1 begins at Isabella St. (at the Outer Banks Pier) and goes north to Hawks Nest (near the Nags Head municipal complex & water tower). The northern portion of Reach 1 begins at Prospect St. (Mile Post 8) and continues north to Sanderlin St. in Kitty Hawk (just north of Mile Post 4)

Reach 2 extends from the intersection of Old Oregon Inlet Rd. & Hwy 12 (adjacent to the Park Service) and goes north to Isabella St. (at the Outer Banks Pier). Reach 2 is scheduled for construction the year following Reach 1 subject to the availability of funds.

Reach 3 begins at Hawks Nest and extends north to Blackman St. (at Mile Post 11) in Nags Head. Construction of Reach 3 is scheduled for construction the year following Reach 2 subject to the availability of funds.

The project design profile, which will be maintained over the 50-year life of the project, calls for the addition of a dune and berm which combined will add 50 to 75 feet of width to the beach in areas that have a full construction profile. Advanced maintenance fill will also be placed at the time of construction, which will add an additional 100 to 200 feet of width to the beach. This will allow for shifting of fill material into the near shore area, as well as erosion, until the next maintenance renourishment. The construction profile on both ends of the project will be tapered back to the existing profile in the transition areas.

Sand will be dredged from about 7 square miles of sandy ocean bottom within the 3 mile nautical limit offshore of the project area. A good quality beach sand has been found that is compatible with the native beach sands making the new fill material stable and less prone to rapid erosion. The initial nourishment will require 12.3 million cubic yards of sand. Sand will be pumped to the beach by pipeline dredge where it will then be shaped by earth moving equipment.

After the initial construction, a periodic nourishment operation will occur every year along some segment of the project area with each segment being nourished on a 3 year cycle for the 50-year life of the project. Easements have been acquired for parcels touched by the project in Reach 1 area.

The initial construction for the entire project is estimated to cost $71.6 million. Project costs are shared between federal, state and local sources. The federal share is 65% and the non-federal share is 35%. Non-federal funding is cost shared between the state and local sponsors. Construction of the project is subject to the availability of federal, state and local funding. Federal funds have not been forthcoming in amounts sufficient to begin construction in the last two budget cycles. Local officials are working with the congressional delegation to have funds added into the federal budget.