Dare commissioners to vote on moving up Buxton, Avon beach widening to 2026
With erosion occurring more rapidly than expected off Buxton, the Dare County Board of Commissioners are expected to vote Tuesday to shift the next beach renourishment project to 2026.
Buxton’s stretch of beach took a beating this past fall and winter for offshore hurricanes and repeated nor’easters, including one of the worst incidents of erosion since the 1960s taking place in late March.
The erosion also exposed infrastructure and contaminants in the sand and soil from the former Navy/Coast Guard installation north of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which has kept closed since last September a 3/10ths-of-a-mile area from the Buxton Beach Access to the south jetty.
If approved, this would be the fourth time sand has been pumped on the beach from near the old lighthouse site to off the Haulover/Canadian Hole area since 1973.
Avon’s first beach nourishment project took place in conjunction with the second Buxton project in the summer 2022 at a combined cost of $29.8 million.
According to the commissioner’s agenda packet, there is enough money available in the county’s beach nourishment fund to conduct the project a year earlier than originally planned without impacting the Duck/Southern Shores/Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills project that is expected to take place in 2027.
The county’s Capital Improvement Project Committee voted unanimously at their last meeting to recommend to commissioners the earlier timeline for Avon/Buxton.
Dare County’s Beach Nourishment Fund is funded by a 2% portion of the 6% Occupancy Tax charged on nightly stays at motels, hotels, and vacation rentals.
The 2% portion is restricted by state law to be used for the placement of sand, planting of vegetation, and the building of sand fences and dunes, according to the county’s MoreBeachToLove.com website.
Projects are also funded by various property and municipal service district taxes, as well as state and FEMA Public Assistance program funds, when applicable.
The commissioner’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday at the Dare Government Center in Manteo. A live stream will be available on the county’s Youtube channel.
I”m pretty sure it would be cheaper and equally effective to just send some crews to the beach with push brooms and they can just sweep back the ocean.
When you finish your bowl of paint chips you should put together a quote for that 👍