Nags Head tourists find sand work under way

NAGS HEAD

The view from his rented second-floor balcony obscured by bulldozers and rusty pipes, Andy Hollis had more than a few things to say about the ambitious sand-pumping project unfolding below.

As he watched, sludgy-looking sand poured out of the ocean as if shot from a cannon. Surrounded by caution tape and temporary fencing, men in construction hats went about the process of rebuilding the beach at milepost 15.5.

Unaware until Tuesday that a $36 million construction project was set to begin in front of his family's hotel on the day they arrived, Hollis could have been understandably upset about the timing. Instead, the former Maryland city planner said he found it "kinda fun."

"It's amazing," Hollis, 50, said at the Dune Lantern hotel. "It's not going to work forever, but it makes perfect sense to try to do it."

After years of financial planning and scientific debate, the first-ever large-scale attempt to replenish Nags Head beaches got under way last week. For years, natural erosion and devastating storms have taken a toll on the town's beaches - especially in South Nags Head, where 26 oceanfront cottages were destroyed in a 2009 nor'easter.

Town officials have said they hope the investment buys them 10 years of property protection. Funded by county and town tax dollars, the project involves dumping 4.6 million cubic yards of sand pumped from an offshore sandbar onto 10 miles of beach, from Bonnett Street at milepost 11 to the town's southern border at milepost 21.

The project contractor, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co., aims to finish working by Oct. 1.

That timeline has created a new snag in Nags Head's controversial plan, as bulldozers will be marching down the beach at the height ofthe Outer Banks tourism season. Not everyone shares Hollis' curiosity-fueled enthusiasm.

Roberta Thuman, a town spokeswoman, said she's gotten more than a few calls from worried renters.

"A lot of them do ask, 'Why are you doing it in the summer?' " she said.

The answer, Thuman said, has everything to do with the increased potential for storms in the off-season. Those concerns and others are addressed in a town-produced brochure that's being distributed to guests.

Some realty companies have also taken steps to address renters' anxiety.

To "help ease the pain," Resort Realty sent emailed notices about the project to anyone renting one of the company's 250 Nags Head properties this summer, said CEO Mike Harrington.

"We had a couple folks who were kind of irritated, of course, but overall there's not been a big reaction," he said. "It's just, 'Hey thanks for heads-up.' "

Realtors will need to address inconveniences for some guests, Harrington said, but he predicted no major impact to the tourist season.

"It won't affect it at all," he said.

Separated from the construction zone by symbolic fencing, many beachgoers said Wednesday that the project wasn't ruining their vacation. Several people said they walked or drove to the East Forrest Street beach access just to watch the bulldozers work.

"Compared to last year when we were here and it rained all week, this is wonderful," Jim Arden, of Canfield, Ohio, said.

Erin James, (252) 441-1711, erin.james@pilotonline.com