Above, beach renourishment begins. The same beach after renourishment.

Pan truck moving at work during renourishment.

Heavy equipment stockpiling sand.

Dump trucks depositing its load.

Nags Head Emergency Dune Restoration Project

The Nags Head post-Isabel emergency dune restoration project was completed on 30 April 2005. This FEMA-sponsored project was constructed in two phases within a restricted time frame prescribed by NC CAMA Major Permit 37-04.

Phase 1 was accomplished between 22 March and 30 April 2004. It included:

1. Relocation, screening and placement of 10,200 cubic yards (cy) of stock piled sand that had drifted into roads and right of ways during the storm.
   
2. Beach scraping along 7,317 linear feet of beach at the north end of Nags Head (~36,600 cy).
3. Sand hauling from inland pits and placement along the most critically eroding sections of beach (56,666 cy).

Phase 2 was accomplished between 1 December 2004 and 30 April 2005. It consisted of hauling and placement of 210,300 cy.

In total, 8.04 miles of ~11.2 miles of town beach were impacted by the project. Approximately 310,000 cy of new sand were added to the Nags Head beach and dune system. (Download CSE's final report in PDF file format.)This partially restores losses sustained during Isabel, but still leaves vulnerable areas, particularly at the south end of town along Surfside Drive and Seagull Drive.

CSE studies indicate the sand deficit along south Nags Head is so large that it will take a project many times larger to provide a minimal beach seaward of existing houses. By contrast, the northern half of Nags Head has recovered fairly well as a result of natural processes, sand scraping, and limited input of new sand by hauling from inland pits.

RPC Contracting Inc (Kitty Hawk) constructed the project, using as many as 46 trucks at a time to haul sand. RPC Mines in Currituck, a distance of ~25 miles away, was the borrow source for the project. Running 2-axle to 6-axle trucks, RPC accomplished 18,566 truckloads. That averages out to about 0.5 truckloads per foot of beach restored.

In other work for the town, CSE has estimated Nags Head needs over four truckloads of new sand per foot of beach to achieve reasonable protection and provide a viable recreational beach. Therefore, the emergency dune restoration project was, at best, a temporary measure.

For more information on the project, download CSE's final report. (PDF)

Fact sheets

Check out some questions and answers about the project in these PDF documents:

- Fact sheet #1

- Fact sheet #2

- Fact sheet #3

- Fact sheet #4

- Fact sheet #5