Beach, but provision for continuation of a supply to Seabrook and Salisbury 
Beaches must be included in case navigation improvements are constructed 
at Hampton Harbor entrance in the future. 
The Chief of Engineers concurred in the views and recommendations of 
the Beach Erosion Board. 
FORT MACON - ATLANTIC BEACH AND VICINITY, NORTH CAROLINA 
The purpose of the investigation was to determine the best method of 
protecting the shores of the Fort Macon and Atlantic Ocean shore from fur- 
ther erosion. The study area comprises the Atlantic Ocean shore of Fort 
Macon and Atlantic Beach and vicinity for a distance of about 5 miles west 
from Beaufort Inlet. In 1960 the permanent population of the coastal area 
within 50 miles of the study area was about 202,000. About 9,250 feet of 
the shore frontage at Fort Macon is publicly owned, including the Beaufort 
Inlet shore; the remaining frontage of the study area, about 20,300 feet, 
is privately owned. The study area is located on a sandy barrier beach 
extending westward from Beaufort Inlet. Extensive dunes on the island have 
a maximum height of about 40 feet. Tides in the area are semi-diurnal with 
mean and spring ranges of 3.8 and 4.6 feet respectively. The highest water 
of record was 12.6 feet above mean low water, during Hurricane Donna in 
September 1960. Waves approach the shore from the southeast and southwest 
quadrants. The predominance of littoral drift appears to be westward, but 
reversals occur especially along the ocean shore of Fort Macon State Park 
due to tidal currents in Beaufort Inlet. 
The District and Division Engineers and the Beach Erosion Board de- 
veloped plans for restoring and protecting the shores of the area, and made 
economic analyses of proposed protective measures. They concluded that 
practicable plans for the restoration and stabilization of shores within 
the study area are as follows: 
a. Fort Macon State Park. Restoring approximately 7,750 feet 
of beach by direct placement of sand fill, and constructing a groin, re- 
vetment and seawall; 
b. Atlantic Beach and Vicinity. Restoring approximately 20,300 
feet of beach by direct placement of sand fill. 
Both plans include periodic nourishment to stabilize the restored beaches. 
The reporting officers and The Beach Erosion Board found that restoration 
and protection of the shores of Fort Macon State Park and Atlantic Beach 
and vicinity are justified by evaluated benefits. They further found that 
the nature and amount of benefits warrant Federal participation in protec- 
tion of the shore of Fort Macon State Park and recommended adoption of a 
project by the United States authorizing, subject to certain conditions, 
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