STORY 1

From the Island Packet

June, the critical beginning of the summer tourist season, was the initial date set to start pumping from the ocean to Hilton Head’s beaches. According to town officials, that isn’t happening. But the exact timeline for the trucks, bulldozers and, most importantly, sand arriving on Hilton Head’s beaches became a little clearer during a Tuesday town council workshop. On Friday, the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued permits for the majority of the island’s 2025 beach renourishment project. Now that the town has those permits in hand, they can begin the process of selecting a contractor to carry out the work. 

The town initially planned for the state and federal government to issue the permits by the end of 2024. This timeline would have allowed them to begin selecting a contractor in January and with an agreement finalized between the parties by April 1. Now the town expects that they’ll complete the contract negotiations with the chosen contractor sometime in May, Shawn Leininger, assistant town manager of operations, said during the workshop. While the council and town staff have spoken in past meetings about starting construction in June when the permit opens, that will likely not happen. 

“But the practical reality of it is, by the time we get a contractor on board and they decide how they want to sequence work from the north end down to the central section down to the south end, they are going to likely start sometime in late July or August,” Leininger said.

Story 2

From the Island Packet

The 2025 NCAA Women’s Golf Tournament, the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, is back for its 13th annual edition this year. This year’s tournament, taking place March 3-5, 2025, will be hosted at Long Cove Club in partnership with musician Darius Rucker and the University of South Carolina on Hilton Head Island. 

The tournament made its Golf Channel debut in 2022 as the first-ever live televised all-women’s regular season collegiate golf event in the United States. Long Cove Club, in collaboration with Darius Rucker and the University of South Carolina, will welcome top teams from across the country to compete for the championship title for this 54-hole stroke play competition, with individual and team honors. The 2024 winner of the tournament was Arizona State University. 

Among the teams joining South Carolina in the 2025 competition are: Alabama Arizona State Arkansas Auburn Baylor Duke Georgia Kentucky Louisiana State University Mississippi State Northwestern University Ohio State University of California, Los Angeles University of Texas Vanderbilt Wake Forest

Story 3 

From the Island News

Beaufort County Capital Projects Department has announced in a media release the construction of the new Arthur Horne parking lot at 104 Ribaut Road. This project is the final phase of the new Arthur Horne Building complex and will add 41 new spaces to the existing parking lot.

There will be no public parking available at the existing Arthur Horne parking lot during the construction process, which is scheduled to be completed in June 2025. Additional parking is available at the main Administration Parking Lot at 100 Ribaut Road or the Duke Street parking lot, across from the Law Enforcement Center.

Visitors to the Detention Center and Arthur Horne Building are encouraged to use the Duke Street Parking Lot and visitors to the Beaufort County Courthouse should use the main Administration Parking Lot at 100 Ribaut Road.

For questions or more information, please contact the Beaufort County Capital Project Management Office at 843-255-2702.