Posted on April 13, 2026
TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. — A major project to restore sand to Tybee Island’s beach has been set back for this year, according to Tybee Island Mayor Brian West.
The project would have brought much-needed sand back to the shoreline, which has eroded over time. West said he learned this week that plans for the work were set back.
The project carried a $20 million price tag. The federal government had agreed to pay $12 million, and Tybee Island was responsible for footing the rest of the bill. Mayor Brian West said that federal support has now been pulled.
“Of course, we’re gonna seek out other sources for the money. We’re gonna see if there’s other sources,” West said.
Mayor West pointed at areas along the island that are in dire need of sand restoration, such as the boardwalks along 2nd and 19th streets.
“If you go down to the other end of the island, right when you turn up 2nd Street, we had that boardwalk closed, because the high tide was just washing the boardwalk.”
Hurricanes and other weather events drive much of the erosion. Tybee Island typically works on sand restoration every seven years, and crews had scheduled the next project for December of this year.
West said the city is now looking at other options for a temporary fix.
“We’ll see if we can use the money we have to do some patching, it’s really not a good option,” West said. “The sand is pretty much free. We’ll just get it from out there. Bringing in the dredge is the expensive part.”
According to West, sand patching could help in the short term, but he said it would not solve the erosion problem. He said areas around patched sand often erode faster.
Visitors to the island said they have noticed less sand on the beach than in past years.
“We’ve visited a couple times, but there was more sand there than there is now. We recently went to Myrtle Beach, and like Myrtle Beach has like more sand area than this,” visitors Ja’niya and Jalisa Mack said.
West said he is working with city leaders to look for other funding sources to prevent erosion along the beach.
