Beach renourishment project underway in Surfside Beach

Crews started pumping sand to build up area beaches Monday afternoon in Surfside Beach and are working their way up the beach to Ocean Lakes Family Campground.


The work will likely reach Ocean Lakes in early August, barring any weather or mechanical delays. Officials can’t pinpoint an exact date when the work will reach the beach by Ocean Lakes, but have estimated it would be about two weeks after crews started pumping sand in Surfside Beach. That would put crews on the beach by Ocean Lakes around Aug. 7.

Crews are blocking off 1,000-foot sections of beach at a time for the work and anticipate each section will be closed about two or three days. The beach by Ocean Lakes stretches nearly 5,000 feet, so guests will still have access to the beach at any given time during the work – it just may not be their usual favorite spot on the beach.


The project pumps sand from off-shore onto the beach, where crews use front-end loaders and other heavy equipment to distribute the sand and build up the beach.

Beach-goers can track the progress to see where the work is taking place each day.

Crews plan to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to finish the project as quickly as possible. It is expected to take about a month to complete the leg of the renourishment project from just north of the Surfside Beach Pier to Myrtle Beach State Park (the section of work that includes Ocean Lakes).

Crews plan to complete about 500 feet a day.

The timing of the work during the busy tourist season was set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was beyond Ocean Lakes’ control. The work is needed to rebuild the beach and dunes, which were wiped out by Hurricane Matthew in the fall.

Crews started pumping sand for the beach renourishment project Monday in Surfside Beach. The work is expected to reach the beach by Ocean Lakes Family Campground in early August.

A few reminders:

NOISE | Crews plan to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There will be noise from the bulldozers, front-end loaders and other equipment, including the back-up alarms that are required by federal law and cannot be shut off. 

A sign reminding beach-goers to use caution around the work area Monday around Sixth Avenue North in Surfside Beach.

SAFETY | Please use caution and stay out of the work area. There will be pipes outside of the work area, but the contractor will put sand ramps over them so they can be crossed safely.

NEED | The $26.3 million renourishment project is crucial to rebuild the beach and dunes, which help protect the area from storms. Hurricane Matthew in October wiped out our dunes and battered our beaches.

The last renourishment by Ocean Lakes was in 2008.

Once the beach from Surfside Beach to Myrtle Beach State Park is complete, crews will renourish the area south of the Surfside Beach Pier to Georgetown County and then in North Myrtle Beach.

The project will place about 1.2 million cubic yards of material on area beaches.

SHELLS | Beach-goers are likely to find lots of shells after the work.
"Shells should be cool and abundant due to the project and it is cool to see if someone hasn't seen this type of work before," said Glenn Jeffries, spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Charleston.

STAY UPDATED | Use the real-time online map to track the project and see where crews are working.

We'll also continue to update guests through our blog, social media and website.



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