HAMPTON, Va. — For the first time in 17 years, Buckroe Beach in Hampton is getting its sand replenished.
Starting this week, the fresh sand is going to shore up the beach between Point Comfort Avenue and Pilot Avenue.
The city spent millions to revitalize the Buckroe Beach boardwalk area last year, but this replenishment is separate from that project.
Robin McCormick, a spokeswoman for the City of Hampton, said the city hired Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company LLC to get the work done by the end of January.
Great Lakes is sourcing the new sand from an area of the Chesapeake Bay called "horseshoe shoals," which is about two miles into the bay.
"The beach will need to be closed during this time for safety. Of course, we try to align our permits so we are ready to do all work during the off-season," McCormick said.
During that time, the boardwalk will stay open.
Longtime Buckroe resident Patricia Pahlavani said the sand replenishment work is needed.
“I imagine this has a lot of erosion from the weather we have gotten, especially recently, we had that remnant of Ian and it did impact the area," Pahlavani said. "There was sand everywhere.”
The last time the city did a beach replenishment like this was from February to March of 2005, according to McCormick.
