Beaufort Co. plans to realign this busy Bluffton intersection. Here are the five options
A multimillion-dollar realignment planned for the bustling intersection of Bluffton Parkway at Buckwalter Parkway near Buckwalter Place has some residents inflamed over the major changes that could be coming to their neighborhoods.
The intersection realignment would, in effect, bring back a portion of the decade-old and controversial Bluffton Parkway Phase 5B project — which would straighten and extend Bluffton Parkway to Buck Island Road.
“This whole thing stinks,” said Bluffton resident Julie Morringello, who referred to the project as a “zombie road” that refuses to die.
“We really need to put a stake in this damn thing and end it,” she said. “If this ever went up for a vote, it wouldn’t have a prayer.”
Opposition to the project renewed recently after Beaufort County scheduled a community meeting Thursday evening to discuss the intersection realignment. A county committee plans to consider the project on Monday.
The full Bluffton Parkway Phase 5B, approved by voters in 2006, would run 2.5 miles from Buck Island Road to Buckwalter Parkway — cutting through undeveloped land behind the Townes at Buckwalter, Woodbridge and Rose Hill neighborhoods.
The project has for years sparked citizen opposition and divided a long-fractured county council. Opponents say the road would be too expensive, would encroach on neighborhoods and would put taxpayers on the hook for improvements that nearby developers would profit from.
Many in the community are concerned about possible motives behind the road project that has lingered for 15 years. They point to confusing and changing stories by proponents of the road — including that it’s necessary to support construction of a new hospital — and accusations that the only people who stand to benefit are developers.
It’s not necessary, they say, and construction will lead to flooding and damaged wetlands.
On the table now is a plan to realign the northern intersection of Bluffton Parkway at Buckwalter Parkway. According to Beaufort County Assistant Administrator Jared Fralix, the county and the town of Bluffton “have not recently discussed” building or paying for the entire 5B project.
Called Tuesday, Fralix said the intersection realignment is a standalone project, regardless of whether Phase 5B is built. He said the project could help clear up congestion along Bluffton Parkway.
The town of Bluffton, according to Fralix, asked Beaufort County to create five options for the intersection project. The realignment is intended “to help with growing traffic volume and address some safety concerns with the current intersection.”
Beaufort County plans to discuss the options — which will cost between $2.5 million and $10 million — at its public facilities committee meeting on Monday, Fralix said. Once an alternative is selected, the project could take six to 18 months, depending on whether nearby wetlands are disturbed, he said.
A community meeting about the project is scheduled for Thursday evening. The meeting, hosted by council member Logan Cunningham, will run from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Buckwalter Recreation Center (905 Buckwalter Parkway).
Morringello, who lives in Rose Hill, said she hopes Bluffton residents will pack Thursday’s meeting. But she said she worries that many newer residents won’t know the project’s history.
“If there’s a big turnout of people who are speaking up, they will not move forward with this,” she said. “They’ll wait a few years and then try it again. Residents need to get out and make their voices heard.”
Jackie Grove, who lives in the Townes at Buckwalter, said she worries the intersection realignment will hurt the wetlands surrounding her neighborhood and cause flooding.
There’s also a concern that elected officials are pushing for the project to benefit developers.
“There is a very large segment in Bluffton that feel that this is being done to open up landlocked lots for some very high-powered developers,” she said. “They want to open up this land so developers can make money.”
The intersection realignment
Last month, Fralix presented to Bluffton Town Council four options for the intersection realignment. Each option would move the intersection about 350 feet south.
Of the four presented, Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka said Option D — which would create a connecting road to Woodbridge — was the “best.”
After the meeting, Beaufort County created a fifth option, Option E, which would further expand the intersection toward Buck Island Road.
▪ Option A: The simplest and cheapest alternative, according to Fralix’s presentation. This option would have the least impact on the intersection, but would prevent residents in the Townes at Buckwalter from turning left out of their neighborhood.
▪ Option B: This alternative would create a road connecting the Lord of Life Lutheran Church’s parking lot to Buckwalter Towne Boulevard.
▪ Option C: This option builds on Option B and adds a series of connecting roads south of the intersection.
▪ Option D: The most expensive option. Option D would fully connect the intersection to Woodbridge.
▪ Option E: This option, drafted by pen, appears to jumpstart the entire Phase 5B project.
The Phase 5B Project
Known as Bluffton Parkway Phase 5B, the project’s history is long and convoluted. For 15 years, the project, which would eliminate the “dogleg” where Buckwalter Parkway divides the road, has been hampered by scarce funding and citizen opposition.
However, the town of Bluffton has regularly pushed for the project. It’s even listed on some online government maps as “Future Bluffton Parkway.”
In 2019, then-Bluffton Town Manager Marc Orlando wrote to county officials, urging them to move forward with construction of a two-phase portion of Bluffton Parkway Phase 5B.
“We understand funds are not available to complete construction of the entire ... project, however, we also understand that there may be funds available to support a portion of this project,” the letter said.
Orlando gave two reasons for the request: Voters approved the project in the 2006 Penny Sales Tax referendum, and the road would support the “economic growth” tied to the planned 65,000 square-foot Beaufort Memorial Hospital and Medical University of South Carolina micro-hospital near Bluffton Parkway, Innovation Drive and Buckwalter Parkway.
But construction and opening dates for the micro-hospital, the state’s first, are still unclear. In an email Tuesday, spokesperson Courtney McDermott said the hospital hopes construction will begin sometime in 2023.
Asked whether the intersection realignment was necessary for the hospital, McDermott said “we are not in a position to determine if or when roadway realignments are necessary nor how they should be implemented.”
Unanswered questions
Rumors and accusations have swirled around the Phase 5B project for years. Among the outstanding questions:
▪ Several residents referred to the fact that the realignment of Bluffton Parkway would pass through undeveloped property owned by John Reed, the CEO of REED Group, the prominent developer of local communities such as Hampton Lake, Hampton Hall and Berkeley Hall. Is this project being promoted to support future development?
▪ How will the intersection realignment affect neighborhoods in the Buckwalter area?
▪ How does Beaufort County plan to pay for the intersection project?
▪ Why, 15 years after the road was approved, are Bluffton and Beaufort County pushing for this project now?
▪ How will the intersection affect nearby wetlands?
▪ Which traffic and safety concerns will the new intersection address?
