Hopper dredger Liberty Island has returned to Nags Head and is hard at work nourishing the beach in the vicinity of the submerged pipeline near the Epstein public beach.
According to the town officials, now the dredger is back the construction will progress north over the next 10 days or so to tie into the beach that has already been completed near Mile Post 14.
After the tie in is completed, construction will progress south from the subline about 5,000 feet.
They also added that the Juncos Street public beach access near Mile Post 19.5 has been re-opened fully to the public while the Forrest Street public beach access near Mile Post 15.5 remains closed to parking, however pedestrians may still use the access.
Nags Head beach nourishment project is one of the largest locally-funded projects of its kind in the United States. This $34.7 million scheme was awarded to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD) back in 2018.
For the project, GLDD deployed two of its dredgers, the Ellis Island and Liberty Island. Over the course of the project, the contractor will pump approx. 2.3 million cubic yards of sand along the Nags Head’s 10-mile beach.
The current schedule calls for the project to be complete in late August or early September.