Two stoplights could be coming to the entrance to Hilton Head Island
Two new stoplights could be the next answer to fix the dangerous turns on U.S. 278 at and around the entrance to Windmill Harbour on Jenkins Island.
The signals would control intersections just east and west of the community's entrance to eliminate the harrowing median crossover where Windmill Harbour residents and visitors dart across oncoming lanes between small breaks in traffic.
Instead of the darting, drivers entering the community could use the new traffic signals to make protected U-turns on U.S. 278 to return from Hilton Head Island or leave for Bluffton, according to the plans.
The new proposal is the safest and most cost effective solution for the intersections that residents, local leaders and state engineers have long said is among the most dangerous in the county, according to a 434-page report on the area by consultant HDR.
The report, finalized late last month, concludes months of detailed traffic engineering analyses and town hall meetings with hundreds of residents of Windmill Harbour, Mariner's Cove, Blue Heron Point and Hilton Head Harbor RV Resort and Marina on Jenkins Island.
But it also takes a U-turn from the four previous traffic studies and proposals for the area, which all have focused on the construction of a new frontage road to avoid new traffic signals.
The cost of the frontage road plan has skyrocketed out of reach to $13.9 million, however, almost double the $7.4 million it would cost to make the improvements associated with the new traffic signals, according to HDR's report.
Administrators are confident the new idea can work if the county and Hilton Head Island expand the project to include widening U.S. 278 to three lanes in each direction from the base of the bridges to Squire Pope Road.
"It took a little convincing, but I'm buying into the two U-turns," county administrator Gary Kubic said. "It's safe, and if the town looks into the three lanes east and west all the way to Squire Pope, I think we can enhance the entire entrance to Hilton Head Island."
That expansion is already part of the town's long-term plan for the highway, so it could make sense to pair the projects together, added town traffic engineer Darrin Shoemaker.
"Yes, I think it's something we could live with if we make (the expansion to Squire Pope) work," Shoemaker said. "I think our ability to accomplish that would go a long way toward making the recommended solution workable. At a minimum, we'd be talking about a joint, cooperative effort by the town, county and state Department of Transportation."
Kubic, Shoemaker and leaders of the communities on Jenkins Island have long struggled to settle on a traffic solution for the island that meets highway safety standards, properly addresses wetland issues and remains within financial reach.
All agree improvements are sorely needed. The one-mile stretch of highway sees an average of 53,200 vehicles per day and 79 collisions have taken place there since 2012, according to the report.
Earlier this year, the S.C. Department of Transportation began its own $900,000 improvements -- currently under construction in the area -- to realign the existing median crossover and add an additional lane. This crossover will provide some relief in the interim, but it must ultimately be closed under the new proposal, leaders said.
County and town staff will meet to discuss the report this month and decide next steps, which must include identifying funding, officials said.
The project could be a strong candidate for the county's potential capital sales tax referendum next fall, if the town agrees to add the expansion of U.S. 278 to Squire Pope to the scope of the work, Kubic suggested.
Windmill Harbour residents are strongly behind the new proposal, said Mike Garrigan, who has worked on the traffic issue for years and leads the gated community's traffic committee.
The traffic situation on Jenkins Island could continue to get worse as the new Bluffton Parkway flyover comes online in the next year, making it imperative to find funding soon, Garrigan and other leaders suggested.
"We think it could work. Obviously, there are not a lot of options open to us, and doing nothing is not an option for us," Garrigan said last week. "We are absolutely determined that something has to be done before something drastic happens, so we need to get something going."
Follow reporter Zach Murdock on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Zach and on Facebook at facebook.com/IPBGZach.
Related content:
- Windmill Harbour road improvements underway, July 6, 2015
- Windmill Harbour traffic project could help ease the blind dash across US 278, May 7, 2015
- DOT rejects proposed access road at Windmill Harbour, suggests new plan, April 21, 2014
This story was originally published December 5, 2015 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Two stoplights could be coming to the entrance to Hilton Head Island."