New Hanover County is reviewing bids for a dredging project along the Mason Inlet that is slated to begin in the coming months.
In late August, New Hanover began soliciting bids for a dredging project on the inlet, which is located off the north end of Wrightsville Beach. The bid posting noted that “time is of the essence” and any bid received after Sept. 23 at 3 p.m. would be returned unopened.
New Hanover Coastal Protection Coordinator Bryan Hall said that the solicitation mirrors previous maintenance dredging events within the inlet.
The work includes hydraulic dredging of approximately 376,000 cubic yards of shoaled material from the Mason Inlet, Mason Creek and the Intracoastal Waterway. The material will subsequently be placed on the southern
beachfront of Figure Eight Island. Additionally, 75,300 cubic yards of dredging seaward of the collision regulations line is included as an optional bid item, depending on if the selected contractor has the proper equipment.
The county manages Mason Inlet in coordination with the Mason Inlet Preservation Group, a collection of more than 1,000 homeowners from Figure Eight Island and the north end of Wrightsville Beach. The group formed in 1998 in an effort to save Shell Island Resort and several beachfront homes. The properties were at risk due to the migration of the inlet, which had moved southward at rates up to one foot per day.
In 2002, the Mason Inlet was relocated 3,000 feet north in an $8 million project. The inlet has been maintained through dredging a number of times since then, including in 2023 when the county approved a special assessment for certain property owners to pay operational and maintenance costs for the relocation. Property owners on the northern end of Wrightsville Beach paid $1,787,518, and property owners on Figure Eight Island paid $2,281,521 for the project.
At the July 14 Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen meeting, Alderman Todd Schoen said that the project would start this winter.
“It is basically unnavigable right now,” Schoen said. “At low tide, we can almost walk to Figure Eight.”
The county received four bids for the upcoming project, with one bid being left unopened due to the contractor not being pre-qualified. The lowest bidder was Cottrell Contracting Corporation at $4,480,080. Southwind Construction bid $5,171,157.29, while Gator Dredging $7,423,000. Gator Dredging’s bid included a $1 million allocation for the optional work.
As of Sept. 28, Hall said that the county was still reviewing the bids before awarding a contract.
Daniel Sheehan covers New Hanover County for the StarNews. Reach him at dsheehan@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: New Hanover reviewing bids to dredge 'unnavigable' inlet | Exclusive
