Drive William Hilton Parkway? Your road home is about to get a lot smoother

Your tires may be having a rough go of it lately on some of the well-worn pavement of Hilton Head Island's main road. And while relief isn't too far off for some stretches, rising asphalt prices could mean parts of William Hilton Parkway won't get an upgrade.

The town is preparing the first phase of a long-awaited project to resurface William Hilton Parkway. In December, work is expected to begin on the first section from Whooping Crane Way near the entrance to Hilton Head Plantation to Shelter Cove Lane. The work will be complete by the start of the Verizon Heritage golf tournament in April.

Resurfacing the rest of the highway will be spaced over the next two years, said Darrin Shoemaker, town traffic and transportation engineer.

The resurfacing was the main thing island officials wanted from the sales tax referendum Beaufort County voters approved in November 2006, a ballot measure that mostly focused on transportation improvements through the greater Bluffton area. The referendum provided $5.64 million for the William Hilton Parkway resurfacing.

Repairing the island roadway has been a priority for town officials for years and is becoming a critical need, Shoemaker said.

"I would accurately (rate) the condition of the pavement ... as being rather poor," he said. "Which is precisely why the town felt so strongly about the high importance of this project for both the continued transportation and economic vitality of our town."

The cost of asphalt, however, has risen dramatically in recent months, more so than other petroleum-based products, he said. While the first two phases of the project will probably continue as planned, the third and fourth phases could be scaled back or cut if referendum money runs out, Shoemaker said.

"The plan is to proceed down William Hilton Parkway according to our priorities as far as the money will take us," he said.

While it is planned for 2009, a start date has not yet been set for the second phase, when the parkway will be resurfaced from Shelter Cove Lane to Park Lane. The resurfacing also will include adding turn lanes at Beach City, Coggins Point and Burkes Beach roads.

The road at the northern intersection of Mathews Drive and the entrance to Hilton Head Plantation recently was resurfaced and will be excluded from the new project.

Most of the work will be conducted at night to avoid daytime road closures, Shoemaker said.