USACE: Ocean View Beach Replenishment Nears Completion

Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ contractors from Great Lakes Dredging and Dock Company pump sand dredged from the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay up to Norfolk, Virginia’s Ocean View Beach. The sand is part of a $34.5 million project to reduce storm damage risk to infrastructure along a 7.3 mile stretch of waterfront, which is susceptible to damage during costal storms. Once complete, the beach will be 60 feet wide and slope up to 5 feet above mean low water. Photo credit: U.S. Army / Patrick Bloodgood.

According to WAVY-TV, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says a $34.5 million beach replenishment project in Norfolk, VA is expected to be completed in May — just in time for beach and hurricane season.

The Army Corps Norfolk District released photos on Facebook Friday of crews working on the Ocean View project.

Once complete, the replenishment is expected to add 1.2 million cubic yards of sand in an area between tip of Willoughby Spit, near the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, to the Little Creek Inlet.

dredgenorfolk2Material on the Liberty Island Dredge that is being used for the project in Norfolk, VA.

Patrick Bloodgood, with the Army Corps, says about 64 percent of the project has been completed.

“The contractor working it has been working 24/7 and we’ve heard nothing but kudos from the citizens here,” he said.

Officials say it will widen the beach by 60 feet, and build it up to five feet higher than the lowest point of the water.

“It’s very important when you’re talking about during storms, the area was very susceptible to wave attacks. [That’s] when the waters would get whipped up by the winds, they would eat away at the dunes, crash into the dunes and impact the neighborhoods behind it,” Bloodgood said.

Dredges are being used to pull up sand from the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay to be used for the project. Bloodgood says two dredges have been in use in April and a third is being added for the final stages.

The Army Corps says it’s part of a 50-year plan to replenish the beach and other projects aimed at mitigating similar problems may be in the future.

“7.1 miles of beach we’ve been working on and it’s a great partnership with the City of Norfolk that we look forward to keep going into the future with its residents with the needs they need for protection and projects,” Bloodgood said.

The Army Corps has posted a few videos on its page showing work on the project.

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