Don’t like the plan to replace the Hilton Head bridges? Here’s how to make your voice heard
Hilton Head Island finally gets a chance to tell the S.C. Department of Transportation what it thinks about the state’s preferred $290 million construction plan for the U.S. 278 corridor.
The SCDOT published its plan online early Wednesday. It can be found here: https://bit.ly/PublicHearing278
The state has an interactive web page for residents to explore project planning documents, traffic and noise analyses, design renderings and information on expected environmental impacts, among other things.
Residents will be able to review the SCDOT documents online, submit written suggestions or recommendations to agency officials, attend an in-person public hearing on July 22 to discuss the preferred alternative, and set up appointments at the Island Recreation Center between July 14-16 or Aug. 18-21 to learn more about the state’s proposal.
SCDOT officials must respond to written comments made during the project’s 45-day public comment period, which ends Aug. 22, said Shawn Colin, senior adviser to Hilton Head’s town manager.
Here’s how residents can send comments to SCDOT:
Go online to https://bit.ly/PublicHearing278 and click on the “Submit a comment” button. You can also use the state’s web page to sign up to speak at the July 22 public hearing or to schedule an appointment at the rec center. Click on the “Sign-up to speak” button or the “Schedule your appointment” button.
The public hearing will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. July 22 at the rec center at 20 Wilborn Road. People can drop by to ask questions from 2 to 6 p.m. An hour-long meeting for residents to speak out about the plan will run from 6 to 7 p.m.
SCDOT officials have also set up a call line for people to leave comments. Each comment is limited to 2 minutes: (843) 258-1110.
You can write to SCDOT project manager Craig Winn, too:
Craig Winn, PE
South Carolina Department of Transportation
Lowcountry Regional Production Group
955 Park Street, Room 401
Columbia, SC 29202-0191
What’s in the plan?
The preferred alternative is an updated version of alternative 4A, which the state initially proposed in early 2020. Alternative 4A would expand the entire corridor to six lanes, with one new bridge crossing from Bluffton to Hilton Head just south of the highway’s current footprint on Pinckney Island, among other things.
Colin, the Hilton Head official, expects SCDOT to spend two to three months responding to the public’s written comments this fall.
SCDOT could then release an updated version of its preferred alternative with tweaks or modifications, he said.
This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 8:59 AM.
