In mid-October, Georgia Power crews started work that will put taller concrete poles along Butler Avenue, and the City warned residents to expect lane closures. Sometime after Christmas, a cutter suction dredge is expected to start pumping light gray, shell-flecked sand from offshore onto Front Beach. In between come a first-year seafood festival, a tree lighting, a parade of lights and a holiday market, all on the same corridor.
That overlap follows a rule. Federal sea turtle protections allow sand on Tybee's beach only from November 1 through April 30. So the island's biggest public works project in seven years has to happen in the same months that year-round residents have the beach mostly to themselves. Here is what the season looks like, street by street and date by date.
Why the Sand Arrives Between November and April
Tybee's Shoreline Protection Project dates to 1974 and has brought in fresh sand about every seven years since. The last round, according to the Savannah Morning News, placed 1.3 million cubic yards between November 2019 and January 2020. The City of Tybee Island says the beach has lost 60 percent of its sand volume since 2020.
This winter was not the original plan. The City and the Savannah District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had spent five years preparing for a nourishment in Winter 2027–28. On September 16, 2026, the City announced $12 million in federal funding that completes the $20 million package and moves sand placement up to an expected December 2026 start. Tybee covered its $8 million share with City tax revenue plus contributions from Chatham County and the State of Georgia.
A Corps notice posted on SAM.gov on October 2 expects construction to run from about late December 2026 to late March or early April 2027, within a 90-calendar-day construction period. The same notice describes the work this way:
- Where: up to about 14,900 feet of Front Beach and South Tip Beach
- How much: up to 1.5 million cubic yards
- Source: an approved offshore borrow area about 8,000 to 20,000 feet from the beach, in water about 16 feet deep
- The sand itself: light gray to light brownish gray fine sand, about 8 percent shell by volume
- After placement: grading and beach tilling
The City's Talk Tybee project page describes the Front Beach work as running from the North Groin to the South Groin.
What a Morning Beach Walk Looks Like While It Happens
The Corps' environmental assessment explains how the sand comes ashore. A submerged pipeline runs from the borrow area to Tybee's southern tip, and crews add shoreline pipe as placement moves along the beach. Access closes only on short stretches. The active segment is fenced and signed, closed from both land and water, and reopens once that segment is done.
So the beach does not close all winter. A walk from the pier toward the North Groin might run into a fenced section one week and open sand the next. The Corps' earlier environmental assessment estimated about 65 days of construction, depending on permits and dredge availability. That fits inside the 90-day period in the October notice.
The 2019–20 project shows how quickly the work moves. WTOC reported on December 6, 2019 that dredging had begun and crews were working between 7th and 8th streets. By WTOC's January 31, 2020 report, dredging was finished and the pipeline was gone. The project had moved on to building dunes, repairing and adding crossovers, and planting, with completion targeted for May 1. If this winter follows that pattern, the pipe will be on the sand for weeks, and the dune and crossover work will run into spring.
Butler Avenue, 6th to 18th, Through January
The beach work comes after a project that has already started on the streets. Georgia Power and its contractor Fairway Electric are carrying out a storm-hardening project across the island, replacing selected poles with taller concrete ones and upgrading equipment. The City's notice makes clear this is a Georgia Power project, not a City one. It tells residents to expect lane closures, crews from several companies carrying identification, and advance notice of any planned outages.
WTOC reported that the work comes in two phases, with affected customers notified ahead of time by mail and email.
| Phase | Streets | Scheduled window | Events on or near those streets |
|---|---|---|---|
| South side | Butler Avenue from 6th to 18th Street, plus connecting streets | October 2026 to January 2027 | Seafood Fest at the pier and pavilion, Nov. 14; tree lighting at the Strand lot, 403 Butler Ave., Nov. 28; Parade of Lights, 4th Street to Tybrisa Street, Dec. 11; Holiday Market at the 16th Street lot, Dec. 12 |
| North side | Second Avenue, Wrenwood Drive, Solomon Avenue, Van Horne Avenue, Pulaski Street, Meddin Drive | Early November 2026 to February 2027 | Tybee Post Music Fest at 10 Van Horne Ave., Nov. 6–7 |
The north phase is scheduled to begin in early November, the same week the Tybee Post Theater holds its fifth annual music fest on Van Horne Avenue. Questions about the pole work go to Georgia Power at [email protected].
Seafood Fest Week Is the Season's First Big Weekend
Seafood Fest is new this year, and it falls in the gap between the start of the pole work and the arrival of the sand. The Savannah Chamber describes three parts: a week of restaurant specials, a Friday oyster roast and a full Saturday festival.
- November 8–15, around the island. On the festival's specials page, Sea Wolf lists a Lobster BLT on a local Sixby brioche bun, local Little Neck clams in garlic tarragon butter, and a dressed oyster with Jansz mignonette and balsamic pearl caviar. Sundae Cafe plans a three-course seafood menu of two savory dishes and a signature dessert. Arrie's Ice Cream & Loaded Teas and Sunrise Breakfast are both offering 10 percent off.
- Friday, November 13, Oyster Roast & Lowcountry Boil. It runs 7 to 10 p.m. in the Hotel Tybee Grandview Ballroom. Tickets are $50 per person, plus a $2.50 service fee online, and proceeds go to HUGS (Heads-Up Guidance Services), a local nonprofit that supports children and families.
- Saturday, November 14, at the Tybee Island Pier & Pavilion. From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. there will be seafood vendors, live music, arts and crafts, a Kids' Zone and a Shrimp Peeling Contest. The festival points visitors to the Strand Parking Lot next to the pier. Every 2026 vendor space is booked.
The weekend before Seafood Fest week, on November 7, the Tybee Island Kite Festival for Parkinson's Disease takes over North Beach. Registration is 11 a.m. to noon and the festival runs noon to 3 p.m., with kite flying, gumbo and vendors. North Beach Bar & Grill, The Irritable Pelican Gallery-Tybee and the Tybee Island Marine Science Center are partners.
The Rest of the Season, Before the Dredge Arrives
Once Seafood Fest is over, the calendar moves north to the historic end of the island and then back down Butler Avenue for the holidays.
- November 21, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The Historic Preservation Commission Tour of Homes includes private homes plus Tybee Post Theater, The Barracks and the Tybee Island Lighthouse. Proceeds go toward restoring the former Fort Screven Fire Station, now the Tybee Arts Center.
- November 28, 6 p.m.: The Tybee Island Tree Lighting Ceremony is at the Strand Parking Lot and Tybrisa Street, 403 Butler Ave.
- December 11, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.: The Christmas Parade of Lights runs from 4th Street to Tybrisa Street. The City asks parade-goers to bring canned goods for the Rising Tyde Food Pantry.
- December 12, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.: The Annual Main Street Tybee Holiday Market sets up in the 16th Street parking lot off Tybrisa Street.
Under the federal schedule, sand placement starts after the holiday market, in late December, and beach placement has to finish by April 30. If the 2019–20 project is a guide, the pipeline phase is the shortest part. The dunes, crossovers and planting take the slower months after it.
If you own a home near the beach and wonder how the new sand, rebuilt crossovers or new poles might affect your property down the road, we're glad to talk it through. The Landings Home Team follows Tybee's projects month by month, and we'll keep watching the shoreline as the work moves along the beach this winter. Let's Start a Conversation.
