Kure Beach, which is scheduled for a Coastal Storm Damage Reduction project at the beginning of this year, will be getting more sand than they anticipated, according to a news release from the town.
Last week, town officials met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who is in charge of these projects, also called beach nourishment or beach renourishment. According to the Corps, Kure Beach will be receiving an additional 60,000 cubic yards of sand thanks to the availability of funding as well as the amount of damage caused by storms since their last project, completed in 2013.
The original contract called for 592,000 cubic yards of sand to be added to Kure Beach, according to town clerk Nancy Avery. Funding for the projects are split between the Corps, which pays 65 percent, the state of North Carolina, which pays 17.5 percent, and the town receiving the sand, which also pays 17.5 percent that comes from room occupancy taxes. According to Avery, the extra money this time around is coming from the Corps, which has funds from unfinished projects and other things.
“No Kure Beach taxpayer dollars are being used for this,” Avery said.
The area receiving sand has also increased. Originally the northern part of the project would renourish the stretch of beach between North Carolina Avenue (which is actually in Carolina Beach) and Myrtle Avenue in Kure Beach. Now that more sand is available, it will be pumped on the beach all the way to N Avenue. The southern part of the project will see the beach built back up from Davis Road to Camp Wyatt Court in the Ocean Dunes area.
The beaches have suffered massive erosion this year due to weather events, especially those that have occurred in the last few months.
“Most of the damage came as a result of Joaquin,” said Avery, referencing the hurricane that brushed coastal North Carolina in early October. “Plus we’ve had all these rain events, which have washed away a lot of sand.”
Another change to the CSDR project is the starting point. The Corps will now begin on the norther end rather than on the southern end due to the location in the ocean where the sand is being pumped from.
Equipment will be staged by the contractor by the Ocean Boulevard beach access in Carolina Beach. Pumping is expected to start in January and be completed by the spring. According to Avery, the Corps must finish work on the beach by April 30. Once the CSDR project in Kure Beach is completed, beach nourishment will begin on the north end of Carolina Beach.
