After being delayed from last fall, a beach nourishment project along the northern half of the Town of Duck has been completed ahead of schedule.
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 Duck project finally began on April 10, with a dredge taking sand from the borrow area off Kitty Hawk that was used to for the nourishment projects along 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.
“Please be aware, some shore pipe and equipment is still on the beach around Nor’banks Drive,” according to an email from the town on Tuesday.
“The equipment will be transported down to Southern Shores throughout the week,” the town stated. “The removal of subline and remaing equipment at Diane St. is anticipated to occur on May 13. Port Trinitie will be restored to preconstruction conditions once the subline is removed.”
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.
An additional 37,500 cubic yards of sand will be placed between Tides Drive and Fifth Avenue in the next few weeks.
“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,” Southern Shores Town Manager Cliff Ogburn said. “On average we hit the mark, but not per station. So, they are coming back to finish up.”
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.