Sands Beach dock in Port Royal is about to close for up to 3 weeks. Here’s the reason
The popular Sands boat landing in Port Royal will close for up to three weeks beginning Monday, Sept. 12, while it’s replaced.
The work comes as Beaufort County is reviewing its 26 boat landings and taking comment from the public on what improvements they would like to see over the next 10 years (take a survey on the county’s website).
The Sands boat landing is one of the most heavily used in the county, said Neil Desai, Beaufort County Director of Public Works.
Five floating docks will be replaced with five new floating docks, Desai said. A new transition plate also is planned, and riprap stone will be placed on the edge of the bank for stabilization.
Weather permitting, the project is expected to be finished by Friday, Sept. 30. The landing will be closed to the public for the duration of the project.
The cost of replacing it is $148,687. Eastman Marine Construction of Ridgeland was awarded the contract for the work.
As part of its work to create a comprehensive master plan for improving those the landings, last year county staff reviewed titles, easements and agreements. They discovered the county didn’t own several sites or had no agreement to maintain them including the Sands. The actual owner, it said, was Safe Harbor Marinas.
In May, the county said it planned to give up maintenance responsibilities at the Sands July 1, frustrating Port Royal officials who said they had less than two months to figure out the situation just as the summer boating season was approaching.
But the town, Safe Harbor Marinas and county quickly reached an agreement in which Safe Harbor Marinas deeded the floating boat dock to the town. Then the county and town signed an agreement saying the county would continue to maintain the landing. The Town, meanwhile, will continue to maintain the parking lot, which it already owns.
To locate an alternative county boat landing, public water access, bluff or pier, check out Beaufort County’s website.
For more information, call Beaufort County Public Works Department at 843-255-2800.
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 3:15 PM.
