Project Specifics

Geosyntec is the on-call coastal engineering consultant for Holden Beach, North Carolina, and provides specialized expertise to protect and manage the shore and coastline of this small coastal-island town. Geosyntec supports emergency storm response management, erosion control measures, mitigation projects, and beach renourishment.

Geosyntec Scope of Services

Geosyntec practitioners developed a long-term, comprehensive beach management strategy for the island, which includes detailed investigations and delineation of offshore, inshore, and inland sand sources; nourishment engineering and design; dune and vegetation planting improvements; and coordination with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on federal project initiatives. This work includes 22 successfully completed beach nourishment projects, which have moved more than 3,600,000 cubic yards of sediment. In addition, Geosyntec conducts annual monitoring, provides shoreline and volumetric analyses, and develops proactive management strategies for the Town.

In addition, our team provided coastal engineering services for a separate beach nourishment and terminal groin project at the island’s east end. For this project, Geosyntec worked in support of an environmental impact statement and project delivery team process. Despite successful beach management, inlet-related erosion is chronic and sometimes severe at this location. Geosyntec conducted an extensive alternatives analysis of dredge, nourishment, and shore protection schemes. Numerical modeling of regional and nearshore hydrodynamics and coastal geomorphology was used to produce final recommendations. In 2017, Geosyntec successfully permitted and contracted a 1.31-million-cubic-yard hopper dredge project using an offshore borrow area. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mitigation for Hurricane Matthew was included in this project. Geosyntec worked with federal and state agencies to expedite the permitting process for this project.

Notable Accomplishments

Since 2001, Geosynted has provided continuous coastal engineering services, including field investigations, geotechnical sand-source identification and dredge planning, long-term management planning, annual beach monitoring, and environmental and permitting tasks. In this time, we have helped Holden Beach manage 22 beach nourishment projects, numerous emergency storm responses, and shore protection engineering.

Note: At the time of this project, Geosyntec practitioners were contracted as ATM, which was acquired by Geosyntec.

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