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Lewes beach replenishment underway

Savannah Beach first to be closed for sand removal
Cones block the parking lot at Savannah Beach in Lewes March 17. Crews are just beginning a replenishment project to remove sand from the parking lot. The lot at Johnnie Walker Beach is also expected to be closed during the project. BILL SHULL PHOTOS
Bill Shull
March 18, 2026

Big bulldozers and skid steers have taken over Savannah Beach in Lewes as a replenishment project gets underway.

Savannah Beach closed March 16. Johnnie Walker Beach is also expected to close during the four-week project.

Lewes City Manager Ellen Lorraine McCabe said the beaches will be closed Monday through Saturday until April 10. They will be open Sundays.

Orange cones and barriers blocked off the parking lots at the end of Savannah Road and at the Virginia Avenue entrance March 17.

McCabe said the sand had accumulated to the point that it was blocking parking spaces and impeding traffic flow.

The sand will be moved north of Savannah Beach to fill in the narrowest part of Lewes Beach.

The project is costing the city $100,000 for the equipment rental.

The replenishment will not impact the community bonfire, scheduled for Saturday April, 11 at Johnnie Walker Beach, according to the city.

 

 

The Virginia Avenue entrance to Savannah Beach is blocked off, as a bulldozer removes sand from the parking lot.
A bulldozer removes sand from the Savannah Road parking lot. It will be redistributed north of the main beaches to the narrowest part of Lewes Beach.
City maintenance workers pull up the parking bumpers from Savannah Beach. The sand had accumulated to the point that it was blocking parking spaces and impeding traffic flow.
One of the large dump trucks waits to go to work, while a bulldozer moves sand around Savannah Beach.

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Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.

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