US coastal beach nourishment

In late July 2026, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $19.5 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock to restore the north‑end beaches of Ocean City, New Jersey. The project began pumping sand onto the shoreline, with work progressing in stages and portions of the beach already reopened for public use. The effort is part of a long‑running series of renourishment projects aimed at protecting the local tourism‑driven economy.

On the same day, a second Great Lakes Dredge & Dock operation started in Buxton, North Carolina, where the dredge Liberty Island began pumping roughly 2 million cubic yards of sand onto the Outer Banks. The work, slated to last about 95 days, targets erosion that has already caused the loss of dozens of homes. Residents welcomed the project, citing expected protection for oceanfront properties and mitigation of storm‑damage risks.

Both projects illustrate a coordinated push by federal and local authorities in 2026 to address coastal erosion along the Atlantic seaboard through large‑scale beach nourishment, employing the same contractor across multiple states.