The project for the Top Sail Island Town, financed by state and local sources, exists
Beach food project continues in Surf City, NC
An almost 20 million dollar project that feeds the beach of the Topsail Island Town beach, which started at the end of January.
- Surf City's beach food project, which is financed by state and local sources, is about to complete.
- The role of the federal government in the financing of beach food projects is uncertain under the new administration.
- Rising costs and financing uncertainties lead to delays for beach food projects in other coastal communities.
Under pierced blue, sunny sky in March, a significant change in the monsoon-like conditions less than 24 hours earlier, the crews in heavy equipment on the beach waited to get new pipes on a tug boat.
In the pipes, the gray -sand -sanding from the banking channel on the mainland side of the Surf City would be pumped further up on the beach of the Top Sail Island and lend space to the typical attraction and the city's economic engine.
In a world full of uncertainties in the current political environment about what is being financed and not financed, this project Surf City Beach Nourishment succeeded in navigating and making ahead.
The work that started at the end of January contains the pumping of sand from the intracoastal waterway of the city of Pender County Beach into the beach strand. The almost 20 million dollar project, which is expected to be completed in a few weeks, will add the entire beach in the city of nutrients and an estimated 60 foot beach from the TopSail beach to 1,000 feet north of the Surf City Fishing Piers.
The breakdown of the costs of the project is around $ 5 million from Surf City and around $ 14.5 million in funds that take place through a unique state scholarship.
In particular, no federal dollars were involved.
But that is different from the much larger and more expensive Federal Nourishment project for Surf Citys Beach, which is scheduled to start in the coming autumn/winter excavator window. This project, similar to the federal projects, which nourish Wrightsville, Carolina and Kure Beaches in New Hannover County and Ocean Isle Beach in Brunswick County at regular intervals, would guarantee a new injection of sand every few years. The 50-year project costs its lifespan of $ 187 million, whereby the current financing formula is asking the federal government to pay 65% of these costs, with state/local sources covering the remaining 35%.
But while everything seemed on the right path last year, a new administration took over the role of the federal government in mid -January with many different ideas.
Reasons at federal departments, including personnel, project and research grants, have dominated the headlines for weeks as a combination of executive regulations by President Donald Trump and tried to reduce the Federal Government's footprint by Elon Musk.
So far, this does not seem to have been financed for beach and admission projects in the southeast of NC
Dave Connolly, spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington, which takes over the participation of the federal government in coastal projects in the Cape Fear region, said that so far it has no impact on financed projects.
“Things can change quickly, but that's our status,” he said.
Federal Funding question mark?
The costs for beach structure projects have risen quickly in recent years. Factors that contribute to supplying the cost of food for the beach food is the high demand for projects for the reconstruction of beaches along the golf and the east coast, which were beaten by the youngest hurricanes and the few American companies in the excavator business.
The local beach projects that are located this winter due to rising costs include the federal work to promote Carolina and Kure Beaches in New Hannover County and Oak Island's project, which are divided between local financial resources and state financing sources to feed their beach.
Now the campaigns in Washington have raised a number of new concerns about local civil servants, especially when state and local governments are asked to collect more of the costs for coastal projects or when federal financing is freezing.
A Trump Executive Order, for example, has given, for example, a scholarship granted by the bid administration in the amount of 242 million US dollars to finance a future span for the replacement of the aging Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.
The Pleasure Island Beach Nourishment project had an estimated cost of almost 20 million US dollars. The only offer for the work that the Army Corps received was 37.5 million US dollars.
It will probably be re-bound this spring with a hopeful start in the coming autumn/winter excavator window, which is the only time that most projects for dredging and beach food projects are to protect nest tortoises and SHORBONGEN.
Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at gmcgrath@gannett.com or @Garethmcgraths on X/Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from the Green South Foundation and the Prentice Foundation. The USA Today Network retains the complete editorial control of the work.
