Town Park Shoreline Protection

The Town of Duck has designed a shoreline protection project that will improve the resiliency of the 11-acre Duck Town Hall/Town Park property. The project will involve the installation of shoreline protection measures and stabilization of coastal wetlands along the Currituck Sound. These features will protect the Town Hall, Town Park, and other public facilities from damage due to erosion and storms, promote natural methods of shoreline stabilization, and serve as a model project for other public and private shoreline stabilization efforts in the future. Specifically, the project will entail the construction of near-shore vertical wooden sills totaling over 770 linear feet. These sills are intended to dissipate the wave energy that has damaged and eroded the coastal wetlands located along the Currituck Sound shoreline. Additionally, 130 linear feet of a stone revetment to stabilize the shoreline at the southern end of the project.

Coastal wetlands along the western shoreline of the Duck Town Park/Town Hall property are a very important feature that offer protection to the shoreline, help improve water quality through filtration, and provide important wildlife habitat. The Duck Town Park/Town Hall property contains millions of dollars in public investment and facilities including the town hall, public meeting hall, maintenance building, amphitheater, gazebo/stage, playground equipment, and enclosed storage areas. These facilities serve everyday needs for Town residents and property owners as well as the recreational/entertainment interests of thousands of visitors to the community. Needless to say, protection of these facilities from soundside flooding is of great importance to the Duck community. Clearly visible on aerial maps over time, the Town of Duck has experienced a great deal of erosion of coastal marsh grasses along its soundfront shoreline since 1998. While much of the erosion adjoining the Duck Town Park has occurred gradually over the past two decades, some of the erosion has resulted from flooding during significant storm events including Hurricane Irene in 2011, Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and Tropical Storm Michael in 2018. This erosion has left Town facilities more vulnerable to damage from flooding during future storms. In addition to meeting the community’s physical needs, the Town of Duck sees this project as an opportunity to become a more resilient community, consistent with a series of recent plans adopted by the Town (vulnerability assessment, resiliency study, Hazard Mitigation Plan, Comprehensive & Land Use Plan, Vision 2032, etc.). These planning and visioning efforts included extensive involvement of community leaders and public input concerning the design, character, function, and sustainability of Duck in the future.  

The Town contracted with planning/engineering firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB) to design the project, conduct the bid process, and oversee the construction of the shoreline protection improvements. Pending final funding approval in the FY2025-26 budget, construction is planned to be bid and awarded to the selected contractor in summer 2025.

The estimated cost is $565,000 for the remaining project management and construction. The Town pursued funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, and N.C. Division of Coastal Management to help defray the cost of the project but was unsuccessful in obtaining matching grants.

The project has been designed and permitted by the necessary State agencies. If funded during the upcoming FY2025-26 budget, the project would be bid in summer 2025. It is anticipated that construction would begin in late-October 2025 and be completed by winter 2025-26.

Questions about the Town Park Shoreline Protection Project can be directed to Senior Planner Sandy Cross at scross@ducknc.gov and/or Community Planner Jim Gould at jgould@ducknc.gov.