The state Department of Transportation hopes a pyramid of sandbags will help fortify dunes on the Outer Banks.
The dunes along North Carolina Highway 12 were flattened during a storm on Thanksgiving and the highway had to be temporarily closed.
The highway connects North Carolina's barrier islands, and officials hope the sandbags will prevent it from being swallowed by the sea.
About 600 giant sandbags will be stacked along a 900-foot section of highway on Hatteras Island just north of the town of Rodanthe.
The sandbag project will cost at least 150-thousand dollars and should be completed by May.
Officials say the wall will help but probably won't hold back the ocean during a major storm such as a hurricane.