Posted on December 17, 2025
Key Points
- The City of Tybee Island plans several major infrastructure projects for 2026.
- Projects include a $1 million dune restoration and a $20 million beach renourishment to combat erosion.
As 2025 winds to a close, municipalities in Chatham County are gearing up for upgrades and improvements for the new year. Here are a couple of projects the City of Tybee is anticipating for 2026.
Beach renourishment and restoration
Dune Restoration
Tybee Island is moving forward with a project to address significant dune erosion against the Savannah River shipping channel, according to City Manager Bret Bell. This part of the beach falls outside of the federally authorized renourishment area, so it is not part of the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) beach nourishment that will come later in the year.
“The dune erosion is getting closer and closer to the homes along that stretch, and if we don’t do anything, it will impact those homes pretty quickly here,” Bell said.
The project will cost about $1 million and will go out to bid soon. He expects a contract to be awarded sometime in January or February, with the project starting at the end of March.
Beach Renourishment
At the end of 2026, the ACOE is scheduled for a $20 million beach renourishment on the main part of the beach, between the north and south groins, pumping in 1.2 million cubic yards of sand.
Since 1974, the process of pumping sand from another site on Tybee’s beach has happened periodically to reinforce the coastline. The last nourishment dumped 1.3 million cubic yards of sand onto the beach between November 2019 and January 2020. In five years, a consultant with the city estimated in January this year that Tybee Island lost about 30% of the beach through natural erosions or storms.
“We obviously need it really badly right now,” Bell said. “We’ve just have had significant erosion over the past year and a lot this fall. We’ve had to close off two crossovers.”
More infrastructure projects and public works
Water and Sewer
Tybee Island will start work to address the problems that led to the sewage spill events in July and August this year.
“We spent about $250,000 correcting some problems but also cleaning out all the sewer lines down there to understand the problems that led to those spills,” Bell said. “So, we’ve laid out a series of projects to address it, and that’s what we’ll do next year is work on sanitary sewer projects.”
The city will also be installing a new 60-inch pipe under 15th Street, running the length of the street up to the marsh. The project, which is a little under $4 million, is fully funded.
“This is sort of a key backbone infrastructure for the south end of the island,” Bell said. “It’s expected to improve drainage throughout a pretty wide area.”
New Fire Station
Built in the 1930s, the current Tybee Fire Station has been pieced together over almost 100 years and is in dire need of an upgrade for a fire department that’s made the switch to full-time service. Recognizing that need, the city has made moves toward building a new fire station. In September, city council approved the $2.4 million purchase of land on Butler Avenue for the new station.
Bell said they expect to begin construction by the end of summer 2026.
Memorial Park Master Plan
A sketch of added buildings in Memorial Park.
Right now, Tybee Island’s Memorial Park serves as just about everything to the community. It is home to the fire station, the YMCA, community center, several pavilions, multi-purpose courts, a playground, community garden, historic cemetery and city hall.
On an island with limited space, the city is looking to maximize all of its 9 acres with a master plan for its redevelopment.
Earlier this year, the city paid the Urban Land Institute $20,000 to help provide a framework of how best to use this land.
Bell said they’re planning on launching the master planning process near the start of 2026 and have already met with some teams that have expressed interest in developing the plan.
Solomon Avenue
This is one of the sections of Solomon Avenue that Tybee Island is considering changes to.
Earlier this year, Tybee held a community meeting to discuss potentially paving portions of Solomon Avenue to improve safety, which Bell says they have gotten the green light on. The process will start in next month.
