BUXTON, N.C. — Even the smallest waves crash through the decades-old southernmost jetty in Buxton Tuesday afternoon, but over the next year it will have new life. In a special meeting on Monday, Dare County commissioners approved the second of three bids they received for the upcoming project.
"When that first rock drops, it's going to be a celebration down here," said Brian Harris, with the Buxton Civic Association.
News 3 has introduced our viewers to Harris countless times over the last two years through his and the BCA's efforts to get where we are today. Another big step toward shoreline stabilization here as Dare County leaders accepted around an $8.6 million bid for the upcoming jetty repair.
"The motels need sand really, really bad right now, as does the entire oceanfront, so everything's moving in a positive direction, and it keeps moving in a positive direction," said Harris.
In our previous coverage last week, News 3 told you that the county wanted to do its due diligence on the lowest of the three bids, which was $5.8 million, before approving it. Commissioners came back on Monday to accept the middle bid of $8.6 million because the lower bid did not align with the timeline they wanted.
"We were glad to see the sooner start date, just because we can't really wait. Asking us to wait till November, it just made zero sense, and Dustin (Peele) and Bobby (Outten) both knew that, so the right decision was made," said Harris.
So, what exactly is the timeline here? Dare County Manager Bobby Outten tells News 3 that mobilization and staging will start as soon as possible, but the expectation is from August to December the crews will work to get at least 450 feet of the jetty repaired.
"The whole idea being, we wanted to get a significant enough portion of it up there that it would hold that newly placed sand in place, and we wouldn't lose significant sand over the three or four months of the delay," said Outten.
In the new year, it will all depend on what our ocean looks like, but crews will have until June to complete the roughly 650 feet total of repairs.
"They may work off and on during that time, depending on what the weather does, but they then have till June to finish it," said Outten.
With beach nourishment in Buxton expected to start as early as next week, neighbors are finally feeling that everything is coming together for the future of their shoreline.
"There's a big light at the end of the tunnel. It's been a lot to overcome, a lot to deal with. It's a big win for Buxton," said Harris.
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