A lot to be done across Oak Island ahead of summer season

OAK ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — Oak Island may look a little different this summer then it has before following Hurricane Matthew. The hurricane caused major damage along the beach, wiping out the sand dunes and part of the Oak Island Pier.

But local leaders like Oak Island Mayor Pro-Tem, Loman Scott, do not think it will affect the holiday weekend. Although Scott says the town has a lot of work to do to get back to the way things were.

“Well the only thing that can be done is a massive beach renourishment. That’s probably going to cost us anywhere from 50 million to 70 million dollars.”

It is a lot of money Scott says oak island does not have. However, in March the town approved funding to rebuild the dunes as part of the Fema Dune Restoration Project.

But that has been put on hold for the time being.

“Well so far we’ve trucked in sand to make temporary dunes along the ocean front. And we’ve had to stop that because of turtle nesting season,” Scott said.

The town says they only finished about 20% of the sand dune repairs needed to be done. But Scott says most of the temporary dunes have been washed away by the recent storms.

Aside from restoring dunes, closing down the Oak Island Pier is also a major change for the area. But it is one many say will not make much of a difference business wise.

“I don’t think it’ll affect our business,” Lazy Turtle Assistant Manager, Melanie Parrish said. “I know the fishers, it’s going to affect them. But as far as our business I don’t think it’s going to be affected at all.”

It has been a big loss for the fishermen.

“I’m sure a lot of the fishermen are going to be disappointed. But there’s another fishing pier here down on the other end of the island,” Scott said.

Overall, it has been a slow and steady process for the town.

“It’s been really slow. I do think it’s going to be a while before they get it fixed. I mean I was here during Floyd and it was a mess. And it took a long time to rebuild after Floyd,” Parrish said.

Town officials say they will restart dune restorations in November after the sea turtle nesting season is done.

As for this weekend, the town is prepared with rescue crews and clean up crews just in case anything happens.