Posted on November 11, 2026
By Joshua Uys
After 70 days of construction, the City of Isle of Palms has completed Reach 2 of its Beach Renourishment Project, placing approximately 800,000 cubic yards of sand between the Wild Dunes Property Owners Beach House and 55th Avenue. Crews are now relocating equipment to begin the project’s third and final phase on the south end of the island.
While Reach 1 wrapped up in just 35 days, more than two weeks ahead of schedule, Reach 2 experienced several weeks of delays due to unfavorable offshore conditions.
Marinex, the city’s dredging contractor, explained that large, rolling ocean swells cause the dredge to rise and fall, potentially crashing its cutterhead into the ocean floor. This creates dangerous conditions for the crew and risks damaging expensive, highly specialized dredging equipment. The dredge is also held in position by five massive anchors, each weighing approximately 13,500 pounds. Safely deploying and retrieving these anchors requires favorable sea and weather conditions.
Construction crews are currently moving pipelines and equipment to Reach 3, where they will begin pumping sand near 2nd Avenue. During this third and final phase, crews will place another 800,000 cubic yards of sand along 8,600 feet of beach between Breach Inlet and the Isle of Palms Pier. Weather permitting, the city’s coastal engineers and dredging contractor expect to wrap up the renourishment project before the end of the year.
In total, approximately 2.5 million cubic yards of sand will have been placed along the Isle of Palms shoreline by the end of this project, creating a wider beach and restored dune system. Together, the beach and dunes serve as a natural barrier against storm surge, erosion and flooding, helping protect people, property and public infrastructure. Renourishment also preserves recreational space for beachgoers, supports the island’s tourism economy and provides habitat for sea turtles, shorebirds, plants and other coastal species.
In a separate effort to help stabilize the newly constructed dunes, Earth Balance will begin planting and fencing the dunes along Reaches 1 and 2 on the north end over the coming weeks. Crews will plant sea oats, bitter panic grass and beach morning glory. Dunes in Reach 3 will be fenced and planted in spring 2027.
Readers are encouraged to view a construction forecast map and daily updates on the city’s renourishment project page at www.isleofpalms.gov/city-managed-beach-restoration-projects.
