Updated: Beaufort's Boundary Street construction project begins
A yellow backhoe towered ominously next to the former KFC building on Beaufort's Boundary Street on Monday.
The equipment, parked in preparation to demolish the restaurant, was one of the signs that work has begun on the $33-million facelift to one of Beaufort's busiest corridors. City officials are touting the benefits of a safer, more attractive entrance to the city, though some area business owners are nervous.
The project will create landscaped, concrete medians, narrower lanes and a squared-off intersection at Robert Smalls Parkway and Boundary Street. A parallel road starting north of the reworked intersection will extend east to Hogarth Street.
As part of the work, KFC and two houses behind it were claimed by eminent domain and will be torn down.
Initial work will include demolishing the buildings, erosion control, storm drains and utility work. The contractor will then begin work to bury utilities.
Drivers should eventually expect lane shifts and slower going in the area -- a 1.2-mile stretch from Neil Road to Greenlawn Drive. But four lanes will remain open during daytime hours Monday through Friday.
"People do not need to worry about adjusting their schedule to get to work," city project manager David Coleman said.
The long-awaited, delayed project is expected to take two years to complete. Lane closures will be allowed from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday, all day Saturday and on Sundays except from 9 a.m. until noon.
The first year of the project will be devoted to burying utilities, Coleman said.
Coleman said he had spoken to some business owners in the area and tried to explain how the finished roadway will work. He will hold weekly meetings on Fridays at City Hall.
Some business owners remain skeptical.
Sheila Fulton, who with her husband owns Frank Bond's Spirits and Wines on Boundary Street near Greenlawn, thinks traffic to the store won't be the same. Project plans call for a 10-foot sidewalk in front of the business and no entry point to the shop from Boundary Street, though two side roads currently offer access.
Fulton, standing in front of the store Monday, pointed to 1-foot increments she marked from the sidewalk towards the store to try to estimate how much parking lot might be eaten up by the project.
A recent survey marking the right-of-way beyond the 10 feet of sidewalk has Fulton worried.
A raised concrete median, even with a left turn at Greenlawn, might discourage people from turning left if it becomes too difficult, said Fulton, who has owned the business since 1985.
"What they are actually going to end up doing here is they are displacing business and traffic and costing themselves money in the long run, because they are going to run small businesses out," said Fulton, who also questioned how the city will afford to maintain additional landscaping.
The city, though, has pointed to a study showing a 5-to-1 return on investment for the project, providing an estimated $150 million economic benefit to the city.
Fulton acknowledged some of the business activity along the road has been encouraging, like Red Rooster Cafe moving to an abandoned space nearby.
At Beaufort Bookstore, tucked in the corner of Beaufort Town Center, manager Kate King said she supports the work if it makes the road safer.
Bookstore employee Colette Tebeau moved back to Beaufort after living seven years in Utah and said she likes the city's commitment to green spaces and the fact that pedestrians won't be subject to cars zooming past.
"If it slows traffic, they might get the chance to see our signs a little but more ," she said.
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
Related content:
- Delays plaguing Bluffton Parkway flyover, Boundary Street projects, Nov. 21, 2015
- Boundary Street work to begin in January in Beaufort: 5 things you need to know, Nov. 17, 2015
- Boundary Street redevelopment construction could begin as soon as the new year, Aug. 31, 2015
- KFC closes in preparation for Boundary Street renovations, Oct. 10, 2014
- Beaufort couple to lose house through eminent domain, Sept. 14, 2014
This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 9:15 AM with the headline "Updated: Beaufort's Boundary Street construction project begins."