Tybee Island to address deteriorating dunes once beach renourishment is complete

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) -Erosion is affecting beaches throughout the coastal empire, but on Tybee Island, the dunes that are meant to guard the island from the ocean, are deteriorating quickly.

These dunes guard the ocean but have taken a big hit over the years. Tybee Island is set to start its next dune renourishment program in 2027, once the Army Corps of Engineers beach renourishment is finished.

Tybee’s Polk Street Beach Crossover, which is known for its calm waves and quieter nature is one of the areas on the island suffering from severe dune erosion.

“This dune field is getting pretty close to this property. There’s no immediate danger here. This will stay like this for a while. The city decided it was time to move on it,” explained Alan Robertson, a resiliency project consultant for Tybee Island.

The dunes on Tybee Island are deteriorating along with the rest of the beaches, some at faster speeds than others, mostly because of ship wake.

“The city is undertaking a project to remediate this dune...Just trying to get it back to its original size and shape,” Robertson said.

Right now, they’re in the design and RFP process of the project.

The city is taking this on as its own initiative, it’s outside of the Army Corps of Engineers jurisdiction, whereas the island’s beach renourishment is within it.

The city is taking on the north end specifically because of the way storms affect the beach here.

“We see increasingly higher tides. You know that because the sea levels are rising. And we’ve got the ship wake, which the Corps has been studying... you see two or three feet of water coming in, which then reach the dune and impact the dunes,” Robertson said.

The city plans to begin this work starting in the fall, into the spring. Once started, the nourishment on the north end should take six to eight weeks.