SECTION 933 PHASE II UPDATES (2007)

View Graphic: Fact Sheet

View Graphic: Beach Nourishment Progress Map (3/26/07)

View Graphic: 2007 Pine Knoll Shores Beach Nourishment Map

3/29/07 – Project Completed – The hopper dredge BE Lindholm completed the eastern tip of the Section 933 Project footprint on March 26th (see progress map above). Despite a turtle take over the past weekend (loggerhead), Weeks Marine worked very hard to complete the Project before the regulatory deadline and maximized the volume of shoal material that could be excavated from the Outer Harbor. When viewed in consort with the Post-Ophelia Replenishment Project, the entire 4.0-mile Section 933 Project reach received sand (see 2007 Pine Knoll Shores Beach Nourishment Map above). Initial estimates are 900,000 – 1,000,000 cubic yards of sand, collectively (see photos below). A standard dump truck holds roughly 12 - 15 cubic yards as a mental image.

Photos (March 28, 2007)

#4 - Iron Steamer

3/23/07 – The hopper dredge BE Lindholm continues to work off a pipe landing situated at Station 39.6, east of Memorial Park (see progress map above). Beachfill activities are currently progressing east of this point. The BE Lindholm will likely depart from the site later this week. The 3,000-foot beachfill gap depicted on the progress map between Stations 40.7 and 43.6 has already been filled by the Ophelia Replenishment Project (reach V). Despite this discrepancy and looking at the project as a whole, almost the same volume of sand that was designed to be delivered in the 4.0 mile stretch of Pine Knoll Shores will be placed within this overall reach. Also, it appears the entire reach designated as the Section 933 Project will receive sand by means of the Section 933 Project itself or/and the Ophelia Replenishment Project. Next week’s update will include a graphic combining the lateral extents of both projects into a single map.

3/15/07 – The hopper dredge BE Lindholm is currently pumping off a 3rd and final pipe landing situated at Station 39.6, east of Memorial Park (see progress map above). The nourishment template for the remainder of the project will scaled to maximize the volume of sand remaining in the outer harbor that can be dredged before the March 31st regulatory deadline, and coupled with the volume of sand associated with the Ophelia Replenishment Project. The sand quality for both projects continues to be excellent (visual observation).

3/8/07 – The hopper dredge BE Lindholm continues to pump sand east from a pipe landing situated at the Whaler Inn (Station 47.6 depicted in the progress map above). Beach nourishment activities will continue progressing towards the east for another ~1,000 foot before a new pipe landing is established in the eastern portion of Pine Knoll Shores. The hopper dredge RN Weeks departed from the site earlier this week. Most of the photos below were taken on March 6th – click here for the full photo gallery.

Photos (aerial & ground)

#4

3/1/07 – Weeks Marine has completed a western advance from the pipe landing situated at the Whaler Inn (Station 47.6 depicted on the progress map above), and have just begun to progress east from this point. There will be one more pipe landing for the project that will be positioned in eastern Pine Knoll Shores later this month. Both hopper dredges, the RN Weeks and BE Lindholm have been working in unison for the past several days; however the RN Weeks may depart the Morehead City Harbor Section 933 Project for another assignment. The BE Lindholm will remain in the area to complete the project before the March 31st regulatory deadline.

2/22/07 – Beach nourishment continues to progress westward from an offshore pipe landing situated at the Whaler Inn (Station 47.6 depicted in the progress map above). Both dredges, the RN Weeks and the BE Lindholm are on-site and in operation. The discharge today is located a few hundred feet west of the Iron Steamer Regional Access (Station 49.5).

2/15/07 – Beach nourishment activities are currently located near the Iron Steamer access as work is progressing west off a new pipe landing at Station “47.6”, near the Whaler Inn. The first nourishment section in western Pine Knoll Shores has been completed (see progress map above and pictures below). The dredge RN Weeks is currently on-site and the BE Lindholm should be back on the project early next week.

Photos (Feb. 11 & 15)

#4

2/8/07 – Beach nourishment activities are currently located east of the Clamdigger and the dredge RN Weeks joined the BE Lindholm earlier this week (see progress map above). However, the BE Lindholm has encountered a mechanical shutdown and should be back in operation next week. The RN Weeks will continue dredging during this time and the next pipe landing will likely be positioned near the Windjammer Inn. Nourishment will progress west, then east from this point. Weather related shutdowns have been minimal and the estimated percentage of the project that has been completed to date in terms of distance is 25%.

2/2/07 – Weeks Marine has completed the nourishment section west of the first pipe landing and has now begun progressing eastward towards the Clamdigger. The dredge BE Lindholm could very well be accompanied by a second dredge, the RN Weeks, by the beginning portion of next week. Both dredges will rotate back and forth from the outer harbor channel and the current pump-out/pipeline landing. Dredging productivity has been “good” and should improve nicely with the arrival of the RN Weeks.

1/26/07 – Weeks Marine has completed nourishing over 3,000 linear foot to date, and should “flip the pipe” at their first beach landing later today/tonight. Beachfill activities will then begin progressing east of the 1st landing pipe location (Station 55.6) - towards the Clamdigger (please see update map above).

1/22/07 – Weeks Marine has continued pumping over the weekend since the project was started this past Thursday, and have completed approximately 1,500 linear foot of beach to date (see progress map above). The sand quality from an aesthetic standpoint looks very, very good (see picture below).

Photos (Jan. 20 & 22, 2007)

#4

1/18/07 – Project Start - The first load of beach quality sand excavated from the Outer Harbor was placed at Station "55.6" (see progress map above) along the western shorelines of Pine Knoll Shores this late afternoon (see photos) below. The Weeks Marine dredge, BE Lindholm and field operations will continue working "24-7" (24 hours a day - 7 days a week) for the remainder of the project. As second hopper dredge, the RN Weeks is scheduled to accompany the BE Lindholm sometime in mid-February.

Photos (Jan. 18, 2007)

#4

1/15/07 – Weeks Marine should begin pumping the first load of sand via the dredge BE Lindholm tomorrow (weather permitting). The beach landing of the submerged line that enables the dredge to moor offshore and pump sand to the beach is located at Station “55.6” (see progress map above). The beach fill will first progress west, then east of this point. A few or several additional landings will be required throughout the project as discussed below (How to Interpret the Progress Map).

Photos (Jan. 15, 2007)

1/8/07 – Weeks Marine begun to mobilize land-based shore pipe to the Iron Steamer Access in Pine Knoll Shores via flatbed trucks on Jan. 2nd and the remaining pipe will be arriving on an intermittent basis for the next several days (see photos below). A set of water-based buoyed pipelines, sub-lines, and ancillary equipment are in transit to Bogue Banks as well. The dredge RN Weeks will continue working in New Jersey until the end of the month and will mobilize to Bogue Banks in February. The BE Lindholm is in the shipyard but repair work is almost completed and Weeks Marine is coordinating a Coast Guard inspection to get the vessel fully seaworthy again. Pumping could start mid-January.

Photos (Jan. 2, 2007)

#5

12/21/06 – Weeks Marine should begin mobilizing land- and water-based pipe, heavy equipment, personnel, etc. in January 2007 with dredging/pumping beginning in late January or early February.

HOW TO INTERPRET THE PROGRESS MAP
for Phase II of the Section 933 Project

Phase II of the Section 933 Project will utilize a maximum of 920,000 cubic yards of dredged shoal material obtained from the outer harbor of the Morehead City Federal Navigation Project for beach nourishment along a 4.0-mile stretch of shoreline encompassing most of the oceanfront along the community of Pine Knoll Shores. For reference, a conventional dump truck holds approximately 15 cubic yards of dry sand. The dredging contract has been awarded to Weeks Marine, Inc. and the ocean-certified, self-contained hopper dredges B.E. Lindholm and R.N. Weeks will be employed for the project. Weeks Marine will utilize the Iron Steamer Beach Regional Beach Access as an equipment staging facility and a point of beach access for heavy equipment.

Hopper dredges utilize dragheads affixed to trailing-arm suction pipes mounted on both sides of the vessel (port and starboard). The dragheads loosen the sand on the bottom off the seafloor and deliver the material to the vessel’s “belly” via the suction arms. Subsequent to completing a “cut” and filling the hopper, the dredge will travel and discharge (pump) sand to a buoyed pipeline located offshore that extends to the pre-construction dry beach. A secondary “T-valve” discharge pipe is used to transport material in one direction (east or west), then the other along the beach to complete ~1-2 mile sections. The buoyed pipeline and T-valve assembly is subsequently transited down the beach until the entire nourishment reach has been filled. Dredged sand will be bulldozed into general construction specifications for subsequent grading into final contours, tilled, and opened for recreational use. Both dredges, the B.E. Lindholm and R.N. Weeks, can hold up to 4,000 cubic yards of sand under optimal conditions.

Project engineers use “stations” positioned along the beach to monitor construction progress and to verify in-place volumes of sand placed on the beach by dredging contractors. The “Beach Nourishment Progress Map” above provides a detailed view of the Section 933 reach to be completed in winter of 2007 with the location/identification of the station numbers and the location of the buoyed pipeline. The shaded areas in red represent the completed portions of the project and will be updated on a weekly basis throughout the construction.

The station numbers included in the progress map conveniently correspond to thousands of linear feet along the beach. For instance, the distance between station “40” and “41” on the graphic above is approximately 1,000 feet. The distance from station “50” to tick mark “45” is approximately 5,000 feet. If you visit the beaches of Pine Knoll Shores this winter, you may see wood or metal stakes at the base of the dunes that will identify these station numbers as “410+00”, “450+00”, etc.