Everything below comes from either Tybee’s own adopted budget or Georgia DOT’s own project record. That matters here more than most places, because the two biggest items on the island, the beach and the causeway, are both often described as further along than the paperwork says they are.
Key Takeaways
– The FY2027 budget commits $8 million as Tybee’s share of an expected $20 million beach nourishment project.
– The federal portion of that money is anticipated, not secured, and the project was listed On Hold in the prior year’s status summary.
– The US-80 bridge replacement has no notice to proceed, no completion date and no contractor. Only scoping and preliminary engineering have been funded.
– $3.1 million goes to sewer repairs after three large spills in summer 2026, and $2.8 million to drainage under 15th Street.
What is happening with the beach?
A nourishment project is budgeted, but it is not yet a certainty. Tybee’s adopted FY2027 budget commits “$8 million for Tybee’s share of the expected $20 million federal beach nourishment project, which will add more than 1.3 million cubic yards of sand to our eroded beach” (City of Tybee Island FY2027 Budget).
Read the footnote before you treat it as done. The same document says: “The City has secured $6 million in state and county funding and anticipates receiving an additional $12,000,000 in federal funding for beach nourishment.” Secured and anticipated are doing different work in that sentence, and the larger number is the anticipated one.
There is a second signal in the same budget. Its status summary of capital projects carried over from the prior fiscal year lists “Beach Nourishment … On Hold,” alongside “North Beach Dune Restoration … On Hold.” That table is explicitly a summary of the FY26 position rather than the FY2027 plan, so it is not a contradiction, but it does tell you where the project stood going into this budget.
Separately, the budget commits “$1 million to restore severely eroded dunes along the Savannah River Shipping Channel, which serve as critical storm protection for a number of private properties.”
For a buyer, the honest read is this: the city has put real money behind sand, the state and county have paid in, and the federal share that makes up most of the total is expected rather than banked. Ask where it stands on the day you are under contract rather than relying on the headline number.
What is happening with the bridges to the island?
Less than most people assume. Georgia DOT’s record for the Bull River and Lazaretto Creek replacement, project 0010560, describes work to “improve US 80/SR 26 from West of Bull River to East of Lazeretto Creek,” with “Replacement and widening of the existing bridges … to add shoulders for safety and to accomadate pedestrian and bicycle traffic” (Georgia DOT).
The department’s own description explains the stakes plainly: “This route is the only access to Tybee Island and serves as the only hurricane and emergency route.” It also notes the project “is almost entirely within the boundary of the Fort Pulaski National Monument/park,” which is a large part of why it has taken so long.
Now the part that gets misreported. The project record shows no notice to proceed, no current completion date, no work completion date, no construction contractor and no construction contract amount. Its status is “Construction Work Program” and construction is “0.00%” complete. The funded activities are scoping in 2013 and preliminary engineering in 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023. There is no construction year on the list.
So the correct answer to “when are the new bridges coming” is that Georgia DOT has not published a date, and the money committed so far has gone to design rather than building. If you are told otherwise, ask for the source.
What is being fixed underground?
Sewers, and the budget is blunt about why. It commits “$3.1 million in critical infrastructure improvements to correct flaws in our sanitary sewer system that led to three large sewer spills in the summer of 2026,” including “new sewer lines on Miller Avenue and throughout the South End, and the rehabbing of dozens of manholes in poor condition across the island.”
There is a diagnostic piece too: “$200,000 to televise the interior of sewer lines throughout our system so we can begin making targeted, proactive improvements before problems happen.” Expect more findings once that camera work is done.
A separate line covers Fort Screven, where the budget lists a “Fort Screven Sewer Replacement” of $2,500,000, In Progress, financed by “a 20-year GEFA loan.” A twenty-year loan is worth noticing: it is the kind of commitment that shows up in rates and fees over time.
What about flooding?
One funded project, aimed at the South End. The budget commits “$2.8 million, primarily funded through a federal grant, to upsize stormwater infrastructure beneath 15th Street with the target to begin relieving flooding on the South End,” and lists 15th Street Drainage as In Progress.
Note the phrasing the city chose: “begin relieving.” This is a first move on a long-standing problem, not a fix for the island. If you are shopping on the South End, flood history and elevation remain address-level questions regardless of this project.
The island’s flood rating is already strong. FEMA lists Tybee as Class 5 in the Community Rating System, worth a 25 percent discount on National Flood Insurance Program premiums (FEMA, CRS eligible communities, effective April 1, 2026).
What else is funded?
Three items a buyer might notice day to day. A “Fire Station Expansion” of $12,655,000 is In Progress, funded partly by “$5,000,000 in federal grant funding, residual and future SPLOST proceeds, future campground operating revenues.” There is “$200,000 for road pavement and speed table projects across the island.” And the budget funds “Installation of eight new electric vehicle charging stations near the Pier and Pavillion,” carried at $40,000 and listed as Not Started.
What is changing for rentals?
The rule set. The city states that “As of August 2026, the City of Tybee Island has revised its ordinances governing short-term vacation rentals and will implement a new permitting process for such properties in 2027” (City of Tybee Island).
If rental income is part of your reason for buying, that is the single most consequential thing on this page. Our Tybee Island buying guide and the Tybee Island community page go further into what to check per address.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Tybee beach nourishment definitely happening?
The city has budgeted $8 million as its share of an expected $20 million project that would add more than 1.3 million cubic yards of sand. It reports $6 million secured from the state and county but describes the $12 million federal portion as anticipated rather than received, and the prior year’s status summary listed the project On Hold.
When will the US-80 bridges be replaced?
Georgia DOT has not published a date. Its project record for the Bull River and Lazaretto Creek replacement shows no notice to proceed, no completion date, no contractor and no construction contract amount, with construction at 0.00 percent. Funding so far has gone to scoping in 2013 and preliminary engineering through 2023.
Is Tybee fixing the South End flooding?
It has funded a start. The budget commits $2.8 million, primarily from a federal grant, to upsize stormwater infrastructure beneath 15th Street, with the stated target to begin relieving flooding on the South End. The city’s own wording is “begin relieving,” so treat flood risk as an address-level question regardless.
Why did Tybee budget $3.1 million for sewers?
Because of three large sewer spills in the summer of 2026. The FY2027 budget funds new sewer lines on Miller Avenue and throughout the South End, rehabbing dozens of manholes, and a separate $200,000 to televise the inside of the system so further problems can be found before they fail.
What this means for a purchase here
Two of these are the projects buyers ask about most, and neither is locked in. The beach money is mostly anticipated federal funding, and the causeway is still in design after more than ten years of preliminary engineering. The sewer and drainage work is funded and underway, which is the more immediate good news.
For the same treatment further south, see what’s coming to Hinesville, and the Savannah and Hunter Army Airfield community page collects the mainland links. To check where any of this stands for a specific Tybee address, get in touch.