Beginning phase of the Carolina Beach Re-nourishment project has kicked off

Carolina Beach, NC (WWAY)– Bulldozers and pipes laying on the beach signal the start of Carolina Beach’s renourishment project. After months of planning, Sunday marked the first day that workers would begin to reshape the coastline.
The project will start off in the north side of Carolina Beach and will work its way south, more than 6 miles all the way to the south end of Kure Beach. Kent Tranter, the project manager for the Army Corps Engineer, explains how this project will carry out.

“They will pull sand from the bottom, they’ve got some pumps on the dredge, it will pump it depending on how far it needs to go. Either use a booster pump to an area that is further away or use the dredge’s own pumps. It will pump it out on the beach and then the bulldozer will take the sand and shape the beach to the profile people are used to seeing”, said Tranter

While this project is going on, residents and visitors won’t have to worry about the beach being completely closed off. Carolina Beach Mayor Lynn Barbee says there are ways for people to see which parts of the beach will be open.

“The Army Corps of Engineers arms this workforce; they have a website you can go to and track where it is. As it moves to Freeman Park, all the way to end of Kure beach, you can see exactly where they will be.”

As for the residents of Carolina Beach, many are excited for this project to finally begin after years of waiting, as the last renourishment project was done more than 3 years ago.

Keith Steuer, a longtime resident, expressed his happiness for the future of Carolina Beach.

“We have 12 grandkids, and it’s nice bringing them here. When you see the beach nice and wide, and all the sand out there, there is a lot of space for them to play. It’s great for residents and visitors, especially in season. It’s phenomenal to see the size of the beach out there”, said Steuer.

With the project in its early stages, Mayor Barbee explains why it’s important for the town’s safety.

“The purpose of the sand, it’s great to have a beautiful sand, but that’s not the purpose of the sand. The purpose of the sand is to protect public infrastructure, so if we don’t have sand on the beach, that puts our water, sewers, roadway at risk if we have a major storm.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers say the project will take approximately four to five weeks for the Carolina beach portion, weather permitting.