Beaufort County issued the following announcement on March 28.
Beaufort County Council voted 9 to 2 supporting 21 of the 26 recommendations the Town of Hilton Head requested for the 278 Bridge Project at Monday’s night’s County Council meeting
“We have been working closely with the Town of Hilton Head and will continue to do so throughout this process,” said Eric Greenway, Beaufort County Administrator. “We look forward to continuing this partnership and addressing as many of the concerns as economically and structurally feasible to upgrade the island’s access to the mainland.”
Per the resolution, within 30 days, the Town of Hilton Head must provide the County Administrator with written commitment to the following or the endorsement is withdrawn.
- All enhancements desired to be added to the project by the Town that are not currently incorporated into the refined preferred alternative (i.e. – specific signage, landscaping, public art, accent lighting, etc.) shall be paid for by the Town of Hilton Head. All Town sponsored enhancements shall be coordinated with the project team to ensure they are in compliance with the project impacts, permits and do not adversely affect the project schedule.
- Any and all right-of-way acquisitions and permissions required throughout the project which are located on Town-owned properties shall be provided to the project at no cost.
- The Town provides its municipal consent for the project.
A review of the recommendations as provided by Hilton Head
The highlights of the 14 of the recommendations that are funded include:
- Left turns at the Stoney intersections and not proceed with the U-turn at the Old Wild horse Road intersection.
- There will be a 12-feet-wide bicycle and pedestrian pathway on the southern edge of the proposed six-lane bridge (instead of a 10-feet-wide pathway).
- The project will only acquire 3.47 acres of land in Stoney, this includes 1.10 acres of privately owned land.
- Recognizing the historical importance of the Stoney Community and truly represent the community as the gateway to Hilton Head Island.
The highlights of the 7 recommendations that are supported by the County but need Town funding to move forward:
- The project could shift the westbound U.S. 278 lanes on Jenkins Island to the north for aesthetic purposes (this would increase the width of the highway median on that part of the island and give a parkway feel. The town’s “meandering highway” idea, which would cost $1.5 million, according to the County.
The County does not support 5 of the 26 recommendations. The biggest being the town’s idea of building two three-lane bridges instead of one six-lane bridge between Bluffton and Jenkins Island. It would add an estimated $27.3 million to the total project cost, widen the corridor and have a larger environmental impact.
Original source can be found here.
