Posted on February 9, 2026
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed the first stretch of its federally funded $72 million Grand Strand Beach Renourishment Project, but a newly added stretch of coast will be financed by local taxpayers. Great Lakes Dock and Dredge, the contractor for the Army Corps’ renourishment in the Grand Strand, will also complete beach renourishment in the Arcadian Shores area, including work within Myrtle Beach’s northern city limits – but the addition isn’t part of the official Army Corps project.
“Since the federal beach renourishment project was already scheduled, the county, along with the city of Myrtle Beach, saw an opportunity to time beach renourishment at Arcadian Shores while this kind of federal project was announced,” said Horry County spokesperson Ryan Bell. Who’s paying for the Arcadian Shores beach renourishment? Because it’s not a part of the official Army Corps Grand Strand Beach Renourishment Project, the Arcadian Shores renourishment isn’t federally funded through emergency relief. Instead, the cost will be split between the City of Myrtle Beach and Horry County. The county has encumbered approximately $9.7 million towards the project … So the city of Myrtle Beach has put $4.8 million of revenue money towards the $9.7 million,” said Bell, who added that Horry County will pay $4.9 million. According to Myrtle Beach spokesperson Meredith Denari, the total cost to the city comes out to $5,044,000.
Why wasn’t Arcadian Shores included in the beach renourishment project? Both Horry County and Myrtle Beach maintain that beach renourishment is critically important to the Arcadian Shores area. “If you go into the area, you’ll see where there’s been erosion, and it has caused pretty steep dropoffs. Myrtle Beach Public Works crews, over the years, have done their best to resolve those – even though we knew it would come back with the next storm – by moving sand around, so there’s not those steep dropoffs,” Denari said. “This should do a pretty good job to fix that. So it’s just been very badly needed, therefore, that’s why it’s a city [and] county project.” Despite the Arcadian Shores erosion, the area didn’t meet the Army Corps of Engineers’ criteria for inclusion in the federally funded project. “In some cases, shoreline areas fall outside a federal renourishment project when the anticipated public benefits are not sufficient to support federal investment, or when including the area could affect overall project approval,” said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers public affairs specialist Dylan Burnell. Boundaries for federal beach renourishment projects are determined by looking at economic, engineering, sponsorship and historical shoreline management considerations, according to the Army Corps.
“Historically, Arcadian Shores was not included within the authorized federal project limits because it did not demonstrate the same level of measurable public economic benefit as other shoreline segments with greater public infrastructure exposure, tourism activity and regional economic significance,” Burnell said. “This does not reflect a lack of importance – only that it did not meet federal funding criteria at the time the project was approved in the 1990s.”
