Effort to fix beach damage from Hurricane Matthew stops as Hurricane Irma concern grows

A two-mile stretch of beach on Hilton Head Island damaged by Hurricane Mathew will sit exposed if affected by Hurricane Irma later this week.

Steve Riley, Hilton Head Island town manager, said operations to renourish the area that sits inside Sea Pines came to a halt Wednesday.

“They have had to stop their work,” Riley said Wednesday. “We did not get as far as we hoped to.”

The projects plan was to fill 300,000 cubic yards of sand across an area of beach that was heavily damaged during Hurricane Matthew. The damage left pool foundations exposed.

Town officials have previously said dozens of homes were put at risk due to the beach damage. They said any significant storm could increase damage to the homes in the area if the damage was not fixed.

Riley said contractors for the project pushed sand using backhoes in front of the homes to offer some protection before stopping the renourishment project.

The project was halted so that equipment can be safely stored, Riley said.

This story was originally published September 6, 2017 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Effort to fix beach damage from Hurricane Matthew stops as Hurricane Irma concern grows."