$20.3 million sand project widens Outer Banks beach

[unhappycamper]

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/08/203-million-sand-project-widens-outer-banks-beach



Equipment and pipeline shooting sand on beach in Rodanthe. The state and US Army Corps of Engineers are in middle of placing tons of sand on the beach for beach nourishment just north of Rodanthe, NC, Thursday, August 7, 2014.

$20.3 million sand project widens Outer Banks beach
By Jeff Hampton
The Virginian-Pilot
© August 11, 2014

RODANTHE, N.C.

Chris Norton, a technician for the Army Corps of Engineers, stood atop a tall dune along N.C. 12 with a panoramic view of beach nourishment going on just north of Rodanthe.

He picked up a handful of sand and let the wind blow it away.

"You'd think you could go out into the ocean and there would be sand like this everywhere," he said. "But that's not the case. We've got to match this sand as closely as possible."

The beach below was a football field wider than it was a month ago when the $20.3 million project began. The ocean has washed over here several times in recent years, closing off the only road access to Hatteras Island communities. That shut down the flow of visitors and income.

[Divernan]

1. Plus another $280 Million in futile attempt to delay impact of ocean rise.

More from the OP link:

Adding nearly 300 feet of beach is expected to protect N.C. 12 long enough for the state to build a bridge 17 feet above the existing pavement, to keep it safe from ocean encroachment for the next half-century.

The $200 million structure would span 2.3 miles from north of Rodanthe to Myrna Peters Road near the historic Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station. It's a suggested fix for one of six "hot spots" from Oregon Inlet to Ocracoke where the ocean persistently breaches the road.

Another option is a bridge that loops into the sound at this same location. Both bridge options would accommodate projections that the ocean will inundate parts of Rodanthe by 2060, according to state maps available at a hearing early this year.

The state is building a 2-mile, $79.7 million bridge in Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge over an inlet created by Hurricane Irene in 2011. The state built a temporary bridge over the breach after the storm.

[Divernan]

2. $+300million taxpayers' $$ spent to keep beach houses on stilts from sliding into the Atlantic

I agree with this comment posted after article/link in OP. Between the gradual ocean level rise and the more immediate storm surges accompanying hurricanes and heavy storms, it is throwing good money after bad, and applying temporary bandaids to the changes effected by climate change. I love the OBX - have had some great family vacations there, but it's history. The state/feds are pumping over $300 million in to "fix" this one area, but the article mentions this is only ONE of the SIX areas where the ocean has compromised state roads. "It's a suggested fix for one of six "hot spots" from Oregon Inlet to Ocracoke where the ocean persistently breaches the road."

Submitted by 042055at430MTB on Mon, 08/11/2014 at 12:09 am.

"The project is expected to be finished in September."

That's providing a storm doesn't wash it all away before then.

Given time, a relatively short amount of time whenever the OBX is concerned, a storm will wash away this and other efforts regardless of mankind's stubborn efforts.

I notice the article didn't mention who is presently, always has been, and will continue to pay for sand replenishment projects that designed solely to inform mother nature her master plan is all wrong. It's you and I, that's who's getting robbed so the few can keep their vistas on stilts from sliding into the Atlantic. It's money thrown onto a never ending burn pile.

What's that old Einstein adage concerning insanity again? It certainly applies here.

[theHandpuppet]

3. This scam has been going on for decades

Many years ago when I lived in the Hampton Roads area (Norfolk-VA Beach, Hampton) there were contentious debates about the enormous amounts of taxpayer money being used to constantly replenish the sand at the toney Sandbridge residential area. When I think of infrastructure projects that truly need our money but go wanting, spending hundreds of millions to rebuild fake beaches makes my blood boil.

Some older articles on the subject:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/hurricane/archives/felix95.htm
http://www.npr.org/2013/01/30/170301306/debate-over-rebuilding-beaches-post-sandy-creates-waves
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/11/storm-reinforces-effort-replenish-sand-va-beach
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-05-14-va-beach-erosion_x.htm

[hatrack]

4. Privatize the benefits, socialize the costs . . .

So what else is new?

Next.

[Nihil]

5. And this is the key point for the decision to waste taxpayer money:

> That shut down the flow of visitors and income.

All Hail the Mighty (private) Dollar!

Waste $20.3M for the sake of some influencial hotel- or shop-owner.
(Or maybe just the dredge company owner?)

> From atop the dune, a dredge was visible about 1-1/2 miles offshore.
> It scooped sand from a borrow pit.
> ...
> Soon, a second dredge will work another borrow pit about 3 miles offshore,
> sending sand for the southern half of the project.

And the first major storm will "repay" the "borrow pits".
Do these guys really not understand what fluid transport is all about
on a coastline?