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Willoughby Spit and Vicinity Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project

Willoughby and Vicinity Storm Damage Reduction Project Complete
For 12 weeks, contractors worked around-the-clock, using dredges to suck up sand from the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay in the Norfolk, Virginia neighborhoods of Willoughby Spit, East Ocean View and Ocean View. The effort was done to raise and widen the beach to protect infrastructure in this portion of the city.
Widened Beach
The beaches at Willoughby Spit, East Ocean View and Ocean View have been widened to provide additional protection to city of Norfolk neighborhoods from wave damage during coastal storms. Crews finished up pumping sand onto the beach from the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay on May 19, 2017. The beaches are no 60 feet wide and slope up to 5 feet above mean low water.
Moving Fresh Sand
NORFOLK, Va. -- 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. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)
Pumping Sand
NORFOLK, Va. -- 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. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)
Bulldozer at the Ready
NORFOLK, Va. -- Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ contractors from Great Lakes Dredging and Dock Company use bulldozers to push sand dredged from the bottom of the Chesapeake Bay into place along 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. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)
Beach Building
NORFOLK, Va. -- 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. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)
Equipment On the Beach
Heavy equipment is staged along the beach in Norfolk, Virginia’s East Ocean View neighborhood. Contractors will use the equipment to move dredged up sand on the beach to create a 60 foot wide beach berm that slopes to 5 feet above mean low water. Engineers’ designed the beach to absorb the wave energy, protecting critical infrastructure during coastal storms. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)
Equipment Staging
Heavy equipment is staged along the beach in Norfolk, Virginia’s East Ocean View neighborhood. Contractors will use the equipment to move dredged up sand on the beach to create a 60 foot wide beach berm that slopes to 5 feet above mean low water. Engineers’ designed the beach to absorb the wave energy, protecting critical infrastructure during coastal storms. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)
Willoughby Equipment Arrival
NORFOLK, VA – Heavy equipment is staged along the beach in Norfolk, Virginia’s East Ocean View neighborhood. Contractors will use the equipment to move dredged up sand on the beach to create a 60 foot wide beach berm that slopes to 5 feet above mean low water. Engineers’ designed the beach to absorb the wave energy, protecting critical infrastructure during coastal storms. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)
High Pressure Pipeline
Heavy equipment is staged along the beach in Norfolk, Virginia’s East Ocean View neighborhood. Contractors will use the equipment to move dredged up sand on the beach to create a 60 foot wide beach berm that slopes to 5 feet above mean low water. Engineers’ designed the beach to absorb the wave energy, protecting critical infrastructure during coastal storms. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick Bloodgood)

Project Scope
Located in the city of Norfolk, Virginia, and consisting of 7.3 miles of shoreline along the southern portion of the Chesapeake Bay extending from the tip of Willoughby Spit near the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel to the federal navigation project at Little Creek Inlet; the Willoughby And Vicinity Storm Damage Reduction Project is the largest single storm damage reduction project in the City of Norfolk.

It included placing 1.2 million cubic yards of sand along the shoreline, widening the beach to 60 feet and creating a slope to 5 feet above mean low water.

The project has an expected life span of 50 years and is expected to receive 445,100 cubic yards of fill every nine years, dredged from the Thimble Shoal Auxiliary Channel, over the lifetime of the project.

Authorization
A feasibility study was completed by the Norfolk District in 1983 and the project was authorized under Section 501 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (PL 99-662), as ammended. A limited reevaluation report was completed post Hurricane Sandy on February 19, 2014

Background
Formed during a hurricane around 1749, Willoughby Spit along with Ocean View has been influenced by coastal storms ever since.

With the assistance of the commonwealth of Virginia, the city constructed a series of breakwaters along the Willoughby Spit-Ocean View shoreline in the late 1990’s. State funding was discontinued before beach nourishment behind the breakwaters could be accomplished, leaving the project area with a reduced level of protection. In 2003, Hurricane Isabel destroyed the protective beach berm, nearly three quarters of the protective sand dune, and several dwellings.

The 7.3 miles of residential area sits virtually unprotected and shoreline recession continues to be a major problem. The city supported a restart of the preconstruction engineering and design investigations to include the conduct of a reevaluation study to determine continued federal interest in the authorized project or a reformulated project.

Construction Cost
$34.5 million

Schedule
Completed May 2017

Project News



Project Partner


City of Norfolk

 

 

Project Contact

803 Front Street
Norfolk, VA 23508
757-201-7606

NEPA Documents