The Town of Duck says Weeks Marine’s dredge has arrived off the Outer Banks, and sand pumping along the beach north of the Army Corps of Engineers Pier is beginning for the nourishment project that was delayed last fall.
After delays for shipyard work and rough weather conditions, the Dredge Magdaline was reported to be working from the borrow area off Kitty Hawk that used to supply sand to the beach nourishment projects for Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk and Southern Shores last year, and bringing that sand to pipes located off Duck where it is then pumped onto the beach.
The contractor expects to complete the nourishment and have all equipment removed in late May, according to the town’s weekly email update sent Tuesday.
Staging for the remaining beach nourishment work off Southern Shores and Duck took place last month.
The Town of Duck announced in November their beach nourishment project from the Duck Pier to near Skimmer Way would be delayed until at least the middle of March.
Weeks Marine, the contractor for the 2022 projects off Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills, said the delay was because they got behind due to equipment issues and weather-related delays, and they had a commitment to a time-sensitive job elsewhere.
The Southern Shores project had been reported as being completed in late October, but it was later determined that Weeks Marine placed less sand on the beach north of Fifth Avenue than planned.
“The project will start in Duck and finish with the addition of 37,500 cubic yards of sand in Southern Shores placed in the northern end of our project,” Southern Shores Town Manager Cliff Ogburn said in February.
“This sand is to make sure our fill template reaches 22 cubic yards per foot at each station in the northern end of our project,” Ogden said. “On average we hit the mark, but not per station. So, they are coming back to finish up.”
The Southern Shores work between Tides Drive and Fifth Avenue is not expected to begin until near the end of May and be completely finished by June 15, according to a the most recent update on Southern Shores’ beach nourishment information page.
Because the Town of Duck was unable to secure an easement for the large equipment and pipes to enter the beach near their project’s location, that gear will have to come across the dune at the Hillcrest access in Southern Shores and then move approximately three miles north.
Despite the delays, there were no financial penalties issued against Weeks Marine, and no additional financial costs incurred by the towns.
This is not the first time Weeks Marine has run into issues completing a beach nourishment project along the Outer Banks.
The same company ran into numerous mechanical and weather delays while widening the beaches from The Haulover to the old Coast Guard base in Buxton between 2017 and 2018.