Hilton Head to cast vote on bridge proposal: Could a design build save Pinckney Island access?
The clock is ticking for Hilton Head officials to decide how they will move forward in what has been described as one of the town’s “most significant vote” in 40 years. For the most part, council members are still undecided.
The fate of the Hilton Head bridge project will be on the table Tuesday afternoon, when the council is set to vote on a joint resolution with Beaufort County. Council members share an eleventh-hour concern about how the proposed design will significantly alter drivers’ access to Pinckney Island when coming from Bluffton.
But the issue, which caught the attention of top leaders in the state Friday, might have a solution, according to an update from the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
The Pinckney Problem
Under the proposed design, once the new eastbound bridge is built — a process that will take years — drivers coming from Bluffton will no longer be able to turn right into the public boat and landing dock, where the ferry to Daufuskie Island picks up passengers.
Instead, they will have to continue about a mile past Pinckney to the Windmill Harbor intersection, where they would either have to make a U-turn or turn left to get re-directed back on the island.
This has raised concerns from Hilton Head council members, including Ward 3 councilman, Steve DeSimone, who predicted during a planning workshop that the re-route would yield significant traffic and safety concerns.
Sen. Tom Davis wrote in an email addressed to elected town and county officials that he too was concerned about what would arise if east-bound access to Pinckney Island was eliminated with the building of a new bridge.
Davis — who represents Beaufort and Jasper Counties and played a key role in securing initial funding for the project — consulted with SCDOT late last week to discuss options.
On Friday, Secretary Justin Powell from SCDOT sent a letter to Davis with a potential alternative: making the project a “design build,” which would allow construction teams to propose alternate designs to improve the project. This could include designs that once again provide two-way access to Pinckney. According to Powell’s letter, this approach could proceed using the current budget.
Is a joint resolution needed?
On Tuesday, the Hilton Head town council is set to vote on a joint resolution between their own council and Beaufort County’s. The scope of the project includes the construction of a new eastbound lifeline bridge without multi-use pathways with a price tag of nearly $300 million.
The vote marks one of the most significant in Hilton Head’s 40 years of being incorporated, said councilman Steve DeSimone during a planning workshop last week.
As of Monday, the majority of council members said that they were still undecided about whether they will raise their hand in favor or in opposition of the resolution, noting the potential solution from SCDOT and lingering questions.
According to Jared Fralix, assistant county administrator of engineering, a joint resolution is not necessary to move forward with this project. But the goal is to present “the most compelling package” to retain a grant of $120 million from the State Infrastructure Bank, Fralix said. This accounts for about 40% of the project’s overall funding.
In total, the county is contributing $101 million to the project. The town is contributing $3.35 million. According to Davis, the town’s contribution is not cash funding, but the value of the land owned by it and to be contributed by it to the project.
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 4:57 PM.
