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Right-of-Way Acquisition Complete
The Reach 3 project encompasses 7.7 miles of shore
beginning at the southern end of the Myrtle Beach State Park in Horry County and extending
south into Georgetown County to Public Access # 26. Two hundred and fifty eight parcels
were touched by the project. Easements were required on all parcels touched by the
project. Two hundred and thirty easements were obtained by voluntary execution of the
easement documents by property owners. The remaining easements were acquired through
condemnation proceedings.
Corps Advertises for Bids
The Corps of Engineers advertised for construction bids on
February 17th. Bids will be opened on March 24th. Actual construction is expected to
begin in late April.
Initial Construction
The initial nourishment will add 1.7 million cubic yards
of sand. Construction will include the placement of sand fill sloped to match the
naturally occurring beach profile. Additional fill will be placed on the beach initially
as advanced maintenance. The width of the beach will increase 75 to 120 linear feet. Sand
for the Reach 3 project will come from a borrow site located approximately 3 miles
offshore of Surfside Beach. Sand will be collected with hopper dredges and pumped onto the
beach by pipeline. Hopper dredges will be used because of their ability to take a shallow
scoop of fill material from the ocean bottom in order to obtain a consistent, high
quality, fill material. Once sand is pumped onto the beach, bulldozers will form the
desired beach profile.
Periodic Renourishment
After the initial construction, the beach is scheduled
for periodic renourishments every 8 years for the 40 year life of the project. The project
is authorized for an additional 10 year cycle if the source of sand is found to be
sufficient at the end of the 40 year period.
Funding
The total cost over the life of the Reach 3 project is
estimated to be $50.5 million. The initial construction is estimated to cost $12.5
million. Project costs are shared between federal, state and local sources. The federal
share is 65% and the non-federal share is 35%. Non-federal funding is cost shared between
the state and local sponsors. Room tax revenues are the primary source of local funds.
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