Hilton Head unveils its own US 278 proposal: Keep left turns for drivers
State transportation officials want to eliminate the left turn from eastbound U.S. 278 onto Squire Pope Road.
The idea has sparked indignation on Hilton Head Island this summer, though, and a town-hired land planning firm has taken note.
Greenville-based MKSK has crafted a tentative counter to the S.C. Department of Transportation, the firm revealed Monday.
The firm has proposed a new configuration for the intersection that would still allow residents to turn left onto Squire Pope Road, which cuts north toward Hilton Head Plantation’s Cypress Gate and popular restaurants like Hudson’s Seafood House on the Docks.
The SCDOT wants to eliminate the left turn as part of the $290 million U.S. 278 corridor project.
MKSK, which the town hired for $98,660 this past spring, was tasked with reviewing and suggesting alterations to the SCDOT’s favored construction plan, which was published in July.
The firm’s intersection ideas were released Monday during a presentation at the Island Recreation Center.
What does SCDOT want to do?
The state’s plan would force eastbound U.S. 278 drivers to make a U-turn at a redesigned Old Wild Horse Road-U.S. 278 intersection before eventually turning right onto Squire Pope Road. (The Old Wild Horse Road intersection is about 0.2 miles east of Squire Pope Road.)
Old Wild Horse Road would also be turned into a one-way street that connects drivers to Wild Horse Road because the state wants to eliminate left turns at the Wild Horse-Spanish Wells roads intersection. (People in the westbound U.S. 278 lanes could make a U-turn at Old Wild Horse Road to eventually turn right onto Spanish Wells Road in the eastbound U.S. 278 lanes, and eastbound drivers could use Old Wild Horse Road to get to Wild Horse Road.)
The plan has infuriated residents, who argue that the proposed intersections are confusing.
Hilton Head Plantation, in particular, has blasted SCDOT’s ideas.
“This is not about the people that live here. This is about moving people to the south end of the island, maybe. Maybe moving them successfully to the south end of the island,” said Peter Kristian, general manager of the north-end gated community, during the project’s public hearing in late July.
What does MKSK want to do?
MKSK’s plan would allow U.S. 278 drivers to continue to make left turns onto Squire Pope Road. At the U.S. 278 intersection, there would be two left turn lanes onto Squire Pope Road, one right turn lane onto Chamberlin Drive, and three eastbound traffic lanes headed toward the Cross Island Parkway. There would be nine U.S. 278 lanes in total, including three westbound lanes.
MKSK wants to keep the Old Wild Horse Road intersection the same as it is today and continue to allow left turns at the Spanish Wells-Wild Horse roads intersection.
It’s unclear how much right-of-way land acquisition would be required for MKSK’s proposal. Estimates were not available Monday. (The SCDOT wants to obtain 4.8 acres in the historic Stoney community and relocate two businesses: Island Psychic and Willie Young’s Upholstery & Fabrics.)
Residents early Monday seemed to like MKSK’s designs, which were displayed at the Island Recreation Center.
Quincy Campbell, 47, a native islander who lives off Spanish Wells Road, said he still opposes the plan to widen U.S. 278 in the Stoney area, but was glad that MKSK had pushed back on the SCDOT’s proposal to eliminate left turns in the corridor.
And Kristian, general manager of Hilton Head Plantation, told a town official that the concepts were an improvement over the state’s ideas.
What happens now?
MKSK’s plans are still being finalized. The town collected public feedback on the firm’s ideas during presentations Monday and Tuesday.
Shawn Colin, senior adviser to Hilton Head’s town manager, said he hopes to present MKSK’s work to Town Council members in the coming weeks. (Colin originally planned to show MKSK’s designs to the council during a Tuesday meeting, but MKSK said, “Hey, we need a little more time,” according to Colin.)
Colin, at a future meeting, wants to get the council’s input on whether MKSK is headed in the right direction.
“We’re still not all the way there yet,” Colin said.
Colin then expects to return to the Town Council sometime in September or October with finalized ideas from MKSK.
The council, at that time, could vote to send MKSK’s suggestions to the SCDOT and wait to see whether the state incorporates them into the project.
Beaufort County will eventually have to obtain a signature of municipal consent from the town before construction can begin on the $290 million project, which includes the demolition of the existing bridges to Hilton Head, according to SCDOT and Colin.
The Town Council, in other words, has the ability to veto SCDOT’s plan, Colin previously said.
If some Town Council members think, “We’re not satisfied that you integrated enough or any” of the MKSK recommendations, Colin has said, that could be grounds for the council’s rejection of the SCDOT proposal.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 2:08 PM.
