Sullivans Island to add sand to beaches on the eastern end of the island

SULLIVANS ISLAND, S.C (WCBD) – Sullivans Island will add sand to its beaches in the next few months. This is a part of the Beneficial Sand Rehandling Project, the details of which were discussed at a town council meeting Tuesday night.

Town leaders say roughly 175,000 cubic yards of sand will be added to the eastern end of the island between stations 30 and 32, where there is heavy erosion.

Officials on Sullivans Island say this will be the first sand renourishment project in approximately the last three decades. The Army Core of Engineers is leading the project, taking beach-compatible sand from storage sites along the Intracoastal waterway and depositing it at Sullivans Island.

Town Leaders say this project will protect houses close to the water and improve beach access for visitors. News 2 asked Town Administrator, Andy Benke, how much of the dunes were lost by recent storms.

“In the area that we’re looking at there probably are no dunes or very little dunes; they’ve been impacted by the recent hurricane and the storms and the very high tides. So we’re looking at trying to use that sand in a beneficial way so that we can renourish the beach,” said Benke.

Benke said there are a few more requirements that the Army Core of Engineers has to complete before sand will start to be deposited.