2025-2026 Myrtle Beach Area
Beach Renourishment Project
Updated as of August 2026
Protecting Our Coastline – And Your Beach Experience
The Myrtle Beach area recently completed a federally funded beach renourishment project to help protect life, property, and wildlife along our 60 miles of coastline. The work took place in phases over several months, and disruption to visitors was brief and minimal throughout.
Beach renourishment restores eroded shorelines by placing sand back on the beach — strengthening our dunes, preserving habitats, and reducing the risk of storm damage. The project was led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District, in partnership with local communities including North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and Garden City.
Why Are The Beaches Being Renourished?
Beach erosion caused by Hurricanes Ian (2022) and Debby (2024) prompted a post-storm damage assessment, which concluded that beach renourishment was needed to maintain the coastline's integrity and protect the Grand Strand’s infrastructure, homes, and businesses.
This project placed 2 million cubic yards of sand (equal to 200,000 dump trucks!) across 26 miles of shoreline.
A beach renourishment effort is typically necessary every seven to 10 years, depending on weather conditions and storms passing through the area. Horry County’s last beach renourishment was in 2019.
How Does This Help The Myrtle Beach Area?
- Provides critical storm surge and erosion protection. By rebuilding and widening the beach, renourishment creates a natural barrier that absorbs the impact of hurricane-driven waves and storm surge. A healthy beach and dune system helps keep floodwaters from reaching homes, businesses, and vital infrastructure like roads and utilities. In past storms, wider beaches have significantly reduced property damage, proving that renourishment is one of the most cost-effective forms of hurricane protection.
- Preserves valuable habitats for sea turtles, shorebirds, and marine life.
- Supports our local economy — the Grand Strand sees millions of visitors annually, generating billions into our local economy, which supports jobs, local services like public safety and schools, and keeps resident taxes low.
- Helps ensure that Myrtle Beach remains beautiful, safe, and resilient for future generations.
Will This Impact My Beach-Trip?
There was very little impact to beach visitors throughout the project. Work was carefully staged to keep most of the beach open and accessible at all times.
- Work took place in 1,000-foot sections at a time (about 3 city blocks).
- Each section was closed for only 2–3 days while crews work around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Visitors were able to enjoy the rest of the beach throughout — it was easy to walk around the temporary work zones. Where pipelines ran along the beach outside the fenced area, sand crossover ramps allowed safe crossing at designated points.
- Safety barriers and signage clearly marked closed areas while work was active.
Stay informed with the real-time project tracker here:
Beach Construction Tracker (USACE)
How Long Did It Take?
- Work began in late fall 2025 and wrapped up in August 2026. Crews operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to stay on schedule, moving from the north end of the Grand Strand south:
- North Myrtle Beach - Completed
- City of Myrtle Beach - Completed
- Surfside Beach and Garden City Beach - Completed
Is The Beach Renourishment Project Safe?
Yes. Safety is the top priority. Here’s what to expect:
- Heavy machinery like bulldozers and pipelines will be present in work zones.
- Please stay out of closed areas and cross only where designated.
- Some noise may occur during construction, including backup alarms from equipment — required by law for safety.
- A firm is contracted to monitor vibrations from the construction equipment throughout the project.
What About Sea Turtles and Wildlife?
The project is being conducted with full respect for local wildlife:
- Daily environmental monitoring is in place for sea turtles, migratory shorebirds and sea life.
- If turtle nests are found in construction zones, they are relocated and protected.
- If a turtle is present, all work in that area stops immediately.
What’s the Cost and Who’s Paying?
- The project is 100% federally funded through emergency relief from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
- Total cost: $72 million — an increase from past projects due to rising equipment costs and greater sand needs.
How Does The Sand Get To The Beach?
The sand is dredged from the offshore borrow areas into a hopper dredge. The hopper dredge motors sand from the borrow area closer to the project site and hooks up to a submerged pipeline. The submerged pipeline runs from just off the beach up onto the beach and connects to shore pipeline, which runs laterally along the dry beach. The sand is discharged as a water/sand slurry mixture through the pipeline, and bulldozers reshape the sand to meet the designed construction template.
The nourishment sand will be excavated by a hydraulic dredge and picks up small amounts of shell and mud with the sand. For that reason, newly placed sand at first often appears quite dark. Within a few days, however, the sun oxidizes the non-sandy material, and the beach eventually turns as light as it was before the project.
Will The Project Uncover Buried Treasures?
While the question might seem a little farfetched, the fact is that there are actually some fascinating things that happen during the process that make it engaging to the entire family:
- The new sand often contains more shells, shell fragments, sea glass and sharks teeth than the native beach. Visitors sometimes find larger or more unusual shells or sharks teeth right after renourishment.
- While offshore borrow areas are carefully chosen to avoid archaeological sites, occasionally small man-made items or unusual stones can surface. Anything significant (like shipwreck material of artifacts) is extremely rate, and if found, it must be reported.
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does environmental and archaeological surveys before dredging. Borrow areas are selected specifically to avoid disturbing historic shipwrecks or cultural resources.
How Can I Educate My Family During The Process?
Let's face it, this is an impressive example of engineering. The beach renourishment process can be both fascinating and educational, allowing families to showcase it as a science-based learning lesson.
- It's mind-boggling: millions of cubic yards of sand (equivalent to hundreds of thousands of dump trucks) are added, dramatically changing the beach profile in just days.
- Sand and water shooting onto the beach is fun to watch. The slurry mixture of sand and seawater is discharged with force, almost like a giant firehose, creating a temporary river of sand that bulldozers then shape into a new beach.
- Amazingly dark new sand lightens over time. At first, the sand pumped ashore may look darker or muddier because it's freshly dredged from the ocean floor. Within days, sun and wind bleach it to match the familiar light, golden beach sand.
- Creation of temporary sand "cliffs" - As new sand piles up, the beach may form small ridges or drop-offs that later smooth out, showing how quickly a shoreline reshapes itself.
- Environmental teams patrol daily, relocating sea turtle nests if necessary and halting work if turtles or shorebirds are present. Visitors often get to see the conservation in action.
How Can I Stay Updated?
- The public can track the progress of the project on a real-time basis, including where the temporary closure will take place, with an interactive map created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
- Track progress daily: Construction Tracker
- Follow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District on:
- Facebook: @CharlestonCorps
- Instagram: @CharlestonCorps
- X (formerly Twitter): @CharlestonCorps
For more info, visit the official renourishment page or contact the Corps directly: [email protected] | (843) 360-3879
Thank You
We know how important your beach vacation is — and this project is about keeping our beaches beautiful, safe, and strong for many seasons to come. Thanks for your patience and cooperation as we complete this important work!
