Posted on March 29, 2018
By Jennifer Lifsey & Jarvis Robertson, WTOC
If you’ve been to the beach lately, then you may have noticed some heavy equipment. That’s because crews are working to replace sand lost during Hurricane Matthew and Irma.
This project is all about restoring the beaches of Tybee Island. A lot of sand was lost from those big storms, and it is desperately needed to protect against any future big storms that may come our way.
The way the project works is the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company will pump sand from an off-shore borrow site. The sand will be placed between Center and Gulick streets on Tybee’s north end.
This project is costing $4.8 million and is part of the Federal Shore Protection Project.
WTOC spoke with Tybee Island Mayor Jason Buelterman about this project and how long it will take.
“It’s to pump sand on to the beach in the areas that lost the most, specifically from Hurricane Matthew. They’re only going to pump for about five days. After that, we’re working on a project that will fill in the gaps in our dune system,” Buelterman said.
Mayor Buelterman posted the following on his Facebook page regarding the project:
In a few days, sand will begin to be pumped onto our beach by the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company dredge boat pictured below. This is a $4.8 million federal shore protection project and is part of an ongoing effort to replace sand lost from Hurricane Matthew and Irma. The material will be placed in the area that lost the most sand as determined by United States Army Corps post-storm surveys. To pay for the non-federal cost, the Chatham County Commission agreed to contribute $1.7 million in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds.
The dredge (the Carolina) has arrived to Tybee and will start pumping sand from our off-shore borrow site next week. Sand will be placed between Center and Gullick on Tybee’s north end.
We are very appreciative for the ongoing support of the Savannah District US Army Corps and Chatham County as we work to protect Tybee from future storm surge events. We hope to move forward on more projects that will protect our Island in the coming months and years. Thanks to Governor Deal, our State Representative Jesse Petrea and our State Senator Ben Watson, the State has set aside $10 million for beach and dune building projects which can be used for additional projects that are now in the planning and permitting stages.
There will be some restrictions on beach access while the current project is underway. There will also be a lot of noise associated with the work. The pumping is only expected to last a few days.
Source: WTOC
