N. Topsail officials meet to discuss ‘super sized’ sandbag revetment

NORTH TOPSAIL BEACH, NC (WWAY) — North Topsail town officials held a special meeting to discuss a project that could help with beach erosion on the north end of the town.

The town says there are about 40 homes in the area that are threatened by beach erosion. Mayor Dan Tuman said while this is not a new problem, the erosion has recently gotten worse. Tuman said cutbacks in routine dredging is one issue. The town has also been working on shoreline realignment projects that haven’t materialized quite yet.

“The impact has been somewhat mitigated by routine placement of sand there by the Corps of Engineers. Unfortunately federal money has dried up. The corp doesn’t do that routinely anymore,” Tuman said.

Now the town is asking for an emergency placement of ‘super sized’ sandbags for the north end. Residents said it needs to happen fast.

“They definitely need the protection, and the more time that goes by the more difficult and expensive it’s going to be to do the job. That’s they’re only hope right now, because all the other ideas that are talked about are going to take some time,” said resident Jay Greenspan.

The town is talking about splitting the $1.5 million project with property owners. The town will hold a public meeting for comments on November 6 before anything can move forward with the project.