Contract awarded for Folly Beach renourishment project

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCBD) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Wednesday that a contract has been awarded for a Folly Beach renourishment project.

Folly Beach suffered severe erosion when Hurricane Ian struck the coast in late September 2022.

“The beneficial use project serves three purposes – to renourish Folly Beach for coastal storm damage reduction, dredge the Folly River federal navigation channel, and place material on Bird Key to help reduce erosion on the critical bird habitat,” said Dylan Burnell, Public Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District.

Burnell said the Charleston District awarded a contract to Gator Dredging in late December to place sand on Folly Beach. The contract will place 1.3 million cubic yards of sand on the beach, equivalent to 130,000 dump trucks.

Officials say the renourishment project is funded entirely by the Corps of Engineers and will cost $18 million. Construction is expected to begin sometime between late winter and early spring 2024.

They hope to have the project finished before peak hurricane season.