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Project
Nears 70% Completion
Resulting In
Beautiful Wide Beach Strand
In Garden City and Surfside Beaches
Schedule
Construction nears 70%
completion as the contractor works north in the campground areas north of Surfside
Beach. Construction began the second week in August in Georgetown County at Public
Access 26 and progressed north through Garden City and Surfside Beaches. Construction was
slated to have begun earlier but was delayed by a shortage of available dredging
equipment. The bidding of the project originally attracted only one bidder because of a
heavy demand for that type of dredging equipment in the Mississippi River basin due to
heavy silting conditions caused by the previous year’s flood conditions. To the
delight of area merchants and vacationers the delayed construction avoided
disruptions to the busiest part of the season. Completion is projected for December or
early January..
Project Scope
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. The initial nourishment is
adding 1.7 million cubic yards of sand to the beach. Sand fill is sloped to match
the naturally occurring beach profile. Additional fill is being placed on the beach
initially as advanced maintenance. The width of the beach has been increased 75 to
120 linear feet. Sand for the Reach 3 project is coming from a borrow site located
approximately 3 miles offshore of Surfside Beach. Sand is vacuumed from the ocean
floor into a hopper dredge until the dredge is full. Hopper dredges were 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. When full, the dredge is taken to
a transfer pumping station located in the ocean near shore. The sand is pumped out
of hopper dredge and into a pipeline that goes onto the beach where it is then shaped by
bulldozers to the desired 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.
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