BUXTON, N.C. — A major beach renourishment project is scheduled to begin later this month in Buxton as Dare County works to protect homes, critical infrastructure, and a vulnerable section of N.C. Highway 12 from continued erosion.
Visitors returning to Buxton Beach this summer say the shoreline looks dramatically different from a year ago, with flattened dunes and sections of roadway washed away after recent storms.
"If we don't do something, then we'll lose the rest of that road, and then we'll lose access to Highway 12 and access to the southern part of the island, and we can't do that," Dare County Manager Bobby Outten said.
To help prevent further erosion, Dare County is partnering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on a beach renourishment project that will widen Buxton Beach by pumping sand onto the shoreline. A dredging vessel will transport sand offshore and build a protective dune in front of homes, roads and other infrastructure before expanding the beach farther toward the ocean.
"The backside of the dune will go along where that high-water line is, where those waves wash up in front of the houses," Outten said. "The dune will get built there, and then the beach gets built oceanward of that dune, so the beach will be built out where those people are swimming."
Construction is expected to begin July 20. Beachgoers may notice a dredging vessel offshore as crews pump sand onto the beach to create a wider shoreline.
The project is being funded in part by FEMA.
"We obligated $22 million to support and reimburse for the impacts they had due to Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight back in 2024," Jordan Rink, with FEMA, said.
The beach renourishment project comes as Dare County also prepares to repair its southernmost jetty, with work expected to begin in August. County officials estimate each project will take up to 90 days to complete.
Outten said while the project will provide added protection for oceanfront homes, its primary purpose is safeguarding the infrastructure that allows residents to continue living on Hatteras Island.
"It does protect the houses, but that's not the primary reason they're built," Outten said. "They're built because you cannot lose that road. You cannot lose that water line. You can't lose that and live here."
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