Could the existing Hilton Head bridges be turned into a public park? What SCDOT says
The S.C. Department of Transportation plans to spend an estimated $6.6 million to demolish the existing bridges to Hilton Head Island during the U.S. 278 corridor project.
But some residents have recently argued that the state can save some taxpayer dollars by leaving the old bridges alone and using them to create new bicycle and walking paths.
Pastor John Miller, of the island’s Chapel Without Walls, during an impassioned speech in late July told SCDOT officials to take the idea seriously.
“It seems ridiculous to add to the exorbitant expense of the proposed project with bike and/or pedestrian lanes on the new-new bridge,” Miller said during the U.S. 278 public hearing.
The state wants to tear down the existing bridges and build a new, six-lane bridge between Bluffton and Jenkins Island as part of the $290 million project. The new bridge would include a 10-foot-wide bicycle and running trail along its southern edge.
Miller’s plea mirrors a similar pitch from state Rep. Jeff Bradley, who last year said local leaders should use the old bridges to construct bicycle lanes and a massive linear park to host festivals and public art.
“What a terrible thing to waste,” Bradley said.
Will the SCDOT, though, really consider Miller and Bradley’s recommendations?
Craig Winn, the state’s project manager, told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette that building a park on the old bridges is not totally out of the question.
At least not yet.
“We basically committed to having some more discussion on it in the future,” including with Beaufort County officials, Winn said.
His comments are the first indication in recent weeks that the park idea is not completely off the table.
Winn said he spoke with Bradley about the idea in passing at the U.S. 278 public hearing. They also discussed it in 2020, Winn said.
Bradley, R-Hilton Head, did not respond to phone calls and a text seeking comment for this story.
If the project enters the design phase this fall, the park concept could be discussed then, Winn said.
Whether that happens, though, is still up in the air.
It will likely take weeks for SCDOT to review and respond to public comments about the project.
And the town of Hilton Head is currently working with MKSK, a Greenville-based land planning firm, to counter various parts of the state’s favored U.S. 278 plan, or “preferred alternative.”
Shawn Colin, senior adviser to Hilton Head’s town manager, said he hopes to present final ideas from MKSK to the Town Council sometime in September or October.
The council, at that time, could vote to send MKSK’s suggestions to SCDOT and wait to see whether the state incorporates them into the project.
‘I wasn’t aware of that at all’
What do we know about Bradley’s park plan?
During a news conference last August, Bradley said he had spoken with civil engineers about how to create a parking lot on Jenkins Island for residents to access the proposed bridge park. He said the lot could be built on town-owned land where large power lines now connect Hilton Head to the mainland.
Bradley said he did not have an exact cost for the park, and it would need to be approved by local governments.
If given the go-ahead, he said, bridge demolition costs could be transferred to a trust for the creation and maintenance of the park.
Bradley, at the time, said he would create a nonprofit, the Calibogue Skyway Park Foundation, to promote the project and eventually gather public input.
The nonprofit was formed on Aug. 23, 2020, state records show. The organization did not have gross receipts greater than $50,000 last year, according to the Internal Revenue Service.
“I wasn’t aware of that at all,” Winn said of the Calibogue Skyway Park Foundation.
