The Dredge Is Headed for Front Beach. What Does That Mean for the South End's Quiet Season?

When does the south end of Isle of Palms get its beach to itself again? Most years the answer is easy. After Labor Day the crowds thin out, the paid parking ends, and the dogs get the long off-leash hours back. This year the answer has to account for a dredge, a pipeline and a crew working around the clock. All of it is moving toward Breach Inlet on a schedule set by offshore weather.

The City's tentative construction schedule puts the first day of pumping in Reach 3, the south-end phase, on November 1. That phase is expected to last 45 days, and demobilization is penciled in for December 15. So the work will cover the stretch from Breach Inlet to the pier during the island's quietest weeks. The south end is also the one part of the project with no Wild Dunes Community Association share, so its cost falls to the City and a state grant. And the summer in Wild Dunes already shows how this phase will play out on any single block.

What the north end went through first

The first two phases ran along Wild Dunes, and their record is the best preview south-end residents have.

1. Reach 1 ran from Mariner's Walk to Dewees Inlet. Marinex, the City's dredging contractor, finished it in 35 days, more than two weeks ahead of schedule. Crews placed about 900,000 cubic yards of sand. The tentative schedule had budgeted 50 days.
2. Reach 2 started within 24 hours. Pumping began near the Wild Dunes Property Owners Beach House, with about 800,000 cubic yards planned between the Beach House and 56th Avenue over roughly 45 days.
3. Then fall weather arrived. On September 24 the dredge was down and staged in Charleston Harbor because of foul weather offshore. On September 28 it was towed back to the borrow site, where the crew spent most of the day repairing the main engine and moved only about 12,000 cubic yards of sand.
4. On October 1, Marinex was pumping in front of Seagrove Lane. Reach 2 had passed 540,000 cubic yards, and the dredge was set to move to safe harbor ahead of a forecast nor'easter.
5. On October 5, the dredge went back to Charleston Harbor because of rough offshore conditions. Crews had finished through the Seagrove Villas area first, bringing Reach 2 to nearly 90 percent complete. The contractor's latest schedule still had Reach 2 finishing by the end of this week.

Reach 1 ran in the calm of midsummer and beat its schedule by more than two weeks. Reach 2 had three weather or repair stoppages in about two weeks and is ending close to its 45-day budget. Reach 3 is scheduled for November and early December, when offshore conditions are less predictable than in July. The November 1 start depends on Reach 2 wrapping up and on what the Atlantic does after that. The City's construction forecast map on the project page shows where crews are expected to be.

Where Reach 3 actually runs

Sources describe the south-end boundaries in slightly different terms. Live 5 describes Reach 3 as the stretch from the Isle of Palms Pier to Breach Inlet, with another 800,000 cubic yards of sand. A June project explainer from Island Eye News's publisher gives more detail. According to that explainer, placement starts midway between Fifth and Seventh avenues, runs north to the pier, then turns back south to Breach Inlet. The approved permit sets the reach from Breach Inlet to 14th Avenue. All three put the work across the Front Beach and pier area, and the forecast map is the best guide for a specific street.

The sand for all three reaches comes from an offshore borrow site about two miles southeast of the pier. At the June council presentation, consultant Steven Traynum said offshore sand can bring some shell or mud, since it reflects what is available offshore. The City's permit requires compatible grain size, quality and color, and it calls for removing excessive mud rollers or coarse material. During Reach 1, City Public Information Officer Josh Uys told the Post and Courier that the sand quality and initial results were satisfactory.

The south end's bill has no Wild Dunes share

The money behind Reach 3 works differently from the money behind the Wild Dunes phases. On the north end, the City contributed 47 percent and the Wild Dunes Community Association 53 percent of a $15,224,865 cost for Reaches 1 and 2. On the south end, the Association contributes nothing. Reach 3 is budgeted at $7,164,643. A $1,500,000 state grant covers part of it, and the City pays the remaining $5,664,643. The City asked the state for $5.3 million in total and has received $1.5 million so far.

Cost also explains why crews worked the beach during the summer. The City says starting in summer was the most cost-effective option and saved about $10 million compared with other construction schedules. Under that schedule, the Wild Dunes reaches went first, during the busy months, and the south end gets the late-fall slot.

What a work zone looks like from your block

The beach stays open throughout. Work moves in sections of about 300 yards. In most cases people can walk around the fenced area, though access may be briefly restricted while dunes are being built. Sand ramps let beachgoers cross the dredge pipeline to reach the water. Mayor Pro Tempore Scott Pierce said in June that getting around the active area might mean walking roughly 100 feet one way or a couple hundred feet the other.

Nights are the bigger change for homes along the beach. The heavy machinery runs around the clock, and the City says residents may notice lights and backup alarms after dark. Mayor Phillip Pounds raised the same points about lighting, alarms and noise when the project launched, according to ABC News 4.

The disruption is short for any single house. Crews expect to advance 100 to 300 feet a day, so the City says the disturbance in a given area should pass within a night or two. The 45 days are spread along the whole south end, and most blocks will only see the crew for a night or two.

For an evening walk, that leads to a few practical points:

• Check the forecast map before heading out. The fenced section moves every day, and the map shows where it is expected next.
• Use the sand ramps to cross the pipeline instead of climbing over pipe joints.
• Leash up near the fencing. From September 15 through March 31, dogs may be off leash from 4 p.m. to 10 a.m. Owners must carry the leash in hand, keep the dog under voice command and clean up after it. Those hours overlap with a crew that works through the night.

The fall calendar the dredge will share

The south end's quiet season has fixed dates, and Reach 3 is scheduled across most of them. Paid parking at Lots A and B on Pavilion Drive and at the on-street stations on Ocean Boulevard near Front Beach, between 10th and 14th avenues, is enforced from March 1 through October 31. Permits are now digital and tied to license plates, with no physical decal.

The Holiday Street Festival is the date to watch. It brings arts and crafts vendors, food, children's activities, live entertainment and Santa Claus to Front Beach. If Reach 3 starts on time, crews would be in their final stretch that weekend. If weather pushes the start back the way it slowed Reach 2, crews could still be on the south end when the tree is lit. The City has not tied the two together. Its October 5 update gave no revised Reach 3 date.

The best guide to the south end's fall is the weekly City update and the forecast map. When Reach 2 is declared finished, a November 1 start becomes realistic. After that, a block's turn comes about a night or two after the crew reaches it.

If you own between Breach Inlet and Front Beach and are thinking about listing or buying this winter, contact Smith Spencer Real Estate. We'll help you plan showings, photography and closing dates around the work as Reach 3 moves down the beach.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.