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Work began over the weekend with crews blocking off portions of the toll road and laying down a ribbon of black pavement in the southbound lanes.
Pete Poore, a spokesman for the S.C. Department of Transportation, could not immediately provide details norjustification for the $595,000. In general, the state has made an effort in recent years to keep up with roads' maintenance schedules, he said.
"Sometimes repair is done when the typical motorist might not see anything wrong," Poore said.
Doing such proactive work can save the state money in the long run, he said.
The project calls for the state to apply a thin layer of asphalt only to eastbound lanes from William Hilton Parkway to the toll plaza using a technique called "micro-surfacing," said Scott Liggett, the Town of Hilton Head Island's director of public projects and facilities.
The projectalso will include resurfacing lanes in both directions within the toll plaza and replacing pavement markings such as lines on the Charles E. Fraser Bridge spanning Broad Creek, he said.
State Rep. Richard Chalk of Hilton Head said he questioned DOT officials about the project because he wondered if the state could've spent the money elsewhere -- to fix potholes on Marshland Road, for instance -- and delayed the parkway project for a year.
"I was not aware of any cracks or broken pavement or anything (on the parkway)," Chalk said. "But I'm not a transportation engineer."
Chalk was told the money was coming from a "pot" set aside for maintenance and would not be paid for with toll revenues. He said he was assured Marshland Roadalso is high on the state's list of priorities and should be fixed soon.
Chalk said he wants to learn more about how the state funds and prioritizes road projects.
"I'm not upset," he said. "It's causing me to want to dig even deeper."
