Posted on June 13, 2018
By Charles Swenson, Coastal Observer
A beach nourishment project will be able to start this fall on Pawleys Island, and the work appears to be within the range of the town’s estimates.
Bids were opened Friday afternoon from three firms. Marinex Construction of Charleston appeared to be the low bidder with costs ranging from $10.9 million to $15 million. The town’s consultants are reviewing the bid documents to make sure they are complete and will notify the low bidder “once we look at the bids and the budget and determine the best path moving forward,” said Steven Traynum, the project manager for Coastal Science and Engineering.
Five firms expressed interest in the project to place between 700,000 and 1.1 million cubic yards of sand on 2.6 miles of beach from the south end to just north of Pawleys Pier. The project was estimated to cost a minimum of $11.8 million, but the town and its consultants have seen prices vary for similar work along the state’s beaches.
Bids from Great Lakes Dredge and Dock of Chicago, which is currently working in Myrtle Beach, ranged from $15.1 million to $19.3 million. Weeks Marine of Louisiana bid between $12.5 million and $17.6 million.
“This one is pretty much right in line with our estimate,” Town Administrator Ryan Fabbri said of the Marinex proposal.
“The great news is that they can do it this year. That’s fantastic,” said Town Council Member Rocky Holliday, who chaired the town’s beach committee that recommended going forward with a nourishment project. “It’s a big commitment, but I think we’re ready.”
The town plans to fund the work with $5.4 million from its beach fund, a $4 million state grant and a $2 million loan. To make sure a project fits within the available funds, the town sought bids for both the minimum and maximum amounts of sand and for work that would start in November this year or November 2019. Only Weeks Marine bid on the later start, and the price was the same as doing the work this year.
A meeting with property owners is scheduled for June 29 to review the project and ways to fund on-going beach nourishment that will qualify Pawleys Island as an “engineered beach” eligible for federal funds to replace sand if lost to a named storm in a declared disaster. The town also wants to hold a non-binding vote among property owners, as it did several years ago before launching a project to move its electric and able lines underground.
Source: Coastal Observer
