BUXTON, N.C. — A lot of what Buxton's future looks like will be discussed by Dare County leaders in the upcoming weeks and months. Two projects News 3 has told viewers about for months are a beach nourishment project and one of the three jetties being repaired. News 3 now knows the status of where everything stands.
"We're going to see a jetty, we'll see a beach nourishment," said Brian Harris, a member of the Buxton Civic Association.
The silver lining of 20 house collapses on Hatteras Island over the last six months is that help is on the way in 2026. Dare County officials are currently working on the logistics of Buxton's beach nourishment project.
"We did bid this out, got two bids, we rebid it. We'll get numbers in again this Friday, and then we'll get a contract awarded so that we can start moving. We're hoping we can start this in May," said Bob Woodard, chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners.
In August, a contract was also awarded to Coastal Science and Engineering to repair the southernmost jetty in Buxton, which is the most intact of the three that the U.S. Navy built decades ago. Right now, the permit is still in the approval process, but the hope is to pair both projects together in May.
"We're ready to go. We're just still pending approval, and we hope to get that soon as well. We want to get that done in conjunction with the nourishment that's going to be going on. So we're keeping our fingers crossed," said Woodard.
That's not where the push to save the shoreline in Buxton stops, though. The hope is to keep pushing state leaders to overturn the ban on hardened structures on the coast.
"I think the biggest thing is that hardened structures were 20 years ago, the technology has evolved. This would open this up to actually a jetty system, to add that second or third jetty, farther north, to protect the road," said Harris.
"The beaches are our economic engine. NC 12 is critical for Ingress egress off the island. We've got to have more tools in our toolbox to try to address these issues," said Woodard.
Woodard is also hoping that the state will start contributing to a state beach nourishment fund that was started years ago.
"The state generates a lot of revenue off of us, and we feel like they need to have skin in the game. They need to protect the coastline. Not just for Dare County, the whole coast of North Carolina, other coastal counties in North Carolina are dealing with the same thing we're dealing with," said Woodard.
Dare County currently has to foot the bill for the projects.
"We spent $275 million in the last 12 years to nourish it, and our model and our funds are starting to erode because we've done so many projects," said Woodard.
Woodard says he feels optimistic about these efforts moving forward.
"I'm trying to stay optimistic with that, this is the first time ever that we've got somebody's ear, so this is important," said Woodard.
Dare County is currently in the process of hiring a contractor to pick up the debris from the four house collapses this past weekend, similar to how they did in the fall. The county will also hold a public meeting on beach nourishment at the Fessenden Center in Buxton at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11.
