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Beach renourishment contractor and schedule announced for $34.8 million project

Beach renourishment contractor and schedule announced for $34.8 million project. The US Army Corps of Engineers issued the following news release Tuesday for the Myrtle Beach area.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, recently awarded a $34.8 million contract for the Myrtle Beach Storm Damage Reduction Project to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, LLC, which will place approximately 1.4 million cubic yards of material on Myrtle, North... Myrtle, Garden City and Surfside Beaches.

The project will begin in August. The nourishment will include approximately eight miles on Myrtle Beach, four miles on Surfside and Garden City Beaches and two miles on North Myrtle Beach. Details on the starting location and direction the project will move in have not yet been finalized. The project will be completed no later than December 15th.

This storm damage reduction project goes along with the regularly scheduled plan for this area which is to place sand on the beach every 8 years. Last year, North Myrtle, Garden City and Surfside Beaches received 1.3 million cubic yards of sand using emergency funding made available after impacts from Hurricane Matthew.

“The storm damage reduction project aims to minimize the impacts to people and property behind the dunes in a storm event,” said Wes Wilson, project manager. “While we acknowledge that people may see temporary inconveniences while the project is underway, the project has many long-term benefits, especially during storm season.”

The public will be able to track the progress of the project on a real time basis located on the Charleston District’s web mapper (https://arcg.is/Ly4Ce). During active construction, the majority of these beaches will remain open and available for the public to enjoy.

The contractor works 24 hours a day, seven days a week during construction, usually completing up to 500 feet per day, barring mechanical or weather/sea condition delays. This means that active construction moves quickly and will only be in front of any particular building or area for two or three days.

Pipelines running along the beach outside of the fenced area can safely be crossed where the contractor places crossover sand ramps over the pipes. The public should keep away from lines and only cross them at the sand crossovers.

As a portion of the project will take place during sea turtle nesting season, the contractor will comply with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammals Protection Act.