Surf City’s 50-year sand plan calls for 22 million cubic yards

SURF CITY – If everything goes accordingly, Surf City’s ocean shore may begin getting massive sand injections by the end of next year.

The town’s federal coastal storm risk management project — more than 20 years in the making — will put a total of 21.8 million cubic yards of sand on the beach over the course of a half-century.

“That’s a lot of sand,” said Kent Tranter, project manager with the Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington district.

Tranter kicked off a public meeting in the town Tuesday night in a presentation of the Corps’ draft general reevaluation report and environmental assessment released last month on the project.

“I will caution you, this is the draft report. Things will change,” he said in front of an audience of more than 40 people.

The draft report is an update on a proposed project that originally included a portion of neighboring North Topsail Beach’s shore.

At the time, the two Topsail Island towns agreed to team up and commit to a cost-share agreement with the Corps to see the project through.

Under the original partnership agreement, Surf City, North Topsail and the state were to split 35% of the cost of the project’s initial construction. The Corps would pay 65%.

But the Corps would not get the funding to cover its portion until 2019, nine years after Wilmington district officials completed its feasibility study of the project.

During that time, the project’s cost more than doubled.

North Topsail Beach would have had to finance more than $26 million to pay its share of the project, which would have covered nearly 4 miles of beachfront. The remaining more than 7 miles of oceanfront is within a federally designated zone that omits it from receiving federal funding.

In July 2021, North Topsail Beach notified the Corps that the town would not be able to meet its deadline to commit to signing a project partnership agreement with the agency and Surf City.

North Topsail’s withdrawal meant the Corps had to reexamine the project and determine whether it remained economically justified, technically feasible and environmentally acceptable, Tranter said.

The updated project includes all 6 miles of oceanfront beach and will extend about 1,000 linear feet into the northernmost portion of North Topsail Beach. That extension across town lines will round out the project footprint for all of Surf City’s shore, Corps officials explained.

A whopping 8 million cubic yards of material will be pumped from several Corps-designated offshore borrow sites and onto the beach during initial construction.

The beach would be renourished about every six years, depending on sand erosion rates and coastal storms.

The price tag for initial construction, which is expected to begin in December 2025 if approved, is $187 million.

Construction is expected to take 16 months, during which time property owners may expect round-the-clock work.

Construction zones between 1,000-1,500 feet wide will be cordoned off, leaving a small portion of the beach closed at one time.

The public will be able to access a map on the Corps’ website that will include information about when and where construction zones will be located.

Wilmington District Commander Col. Brad Morgan thanked the town Tuesday night for sticking with the Corps through the long wait.

“I know this has been somewhat of a journey to get to this point,” he said. “We’re committed to delivering this project. We’ve got a lot of hoops to jump through, most of which are dictated by law. This is kind of the last hurdle. The team if fully committed to working with the town of Surf City to deliver this.”

Under the current schedule, construction would end in 2027. That would be the year the 50-year project begins. If that is the case, the project would end in 2076.

Corps officials will release further details about the project, including which area of the beach will be the first to receive sand, after the agency receives the contractor’s work plan.

The Corps is accepting public comments on the draft report through Oct. 4. All comments submitted will be address in the final report, which is expected to be presented in January 2025.

Questions and comments may be emailed to surfcitygrr@usace.army.mil or eric.k.gasch@usace.army.mil.