A Drudge of a Dredge

As of right now, no work is going on N.C. 12 at Mirlo Beach because of a mechanical issue with the dredge pump.  The pump is not generating enough pressure to keep its lines from clogging with sand.  A part needed to fix the issue has been ordered and will be shipped overnight.  The repair is expected to be made tomorrow.

The dredge is the large red piece of heavy equipment in background

The gap between the sandbags placed at the north and sound ends of the highway is now approximately 100 feet wide.  Our engineers calculate that it will take 200 sandbags to fill in the gap. However, crews can’t resume the sandbag installation until the malfunctioning dredge is fixed.  The dredge is used to remove water and sand from the work site and sand collected by the dredged is then used to fill the sandbags.

Tomorrow, the plan is to begin hauling sand from Avon to fill in the trench between the sandbags and edge of the road. This will take approximately two days. Once the trench is filled, it will protect the edge of the road any overwash  gets through the sandbags. The trenches need to be filled before crews can begin covering the sandbags with sand to rebuild the dunes.

Weather on Friday will be windy with an “ugly”ocean.   Winds reaching 20-30 miles per hour could batter the Outer Banks starting Thursday night  and continuing into Friday. High surf driving by swells of 8-11 feet could become an issue, depending on winds and high tides.