Hilton Head, Hardeeville exits to improve in I-95 widening. Here are the plans

Hardeeville’s Exit 5 and Hilton Head Island’s Exit 8 are being reconfigured as part of the most expensive contract in the South Carolina Department of Transportation’s history,

SCDOT is undertaking the herculean task of widening Interstate 95, the major east coast roadway shuffling drivers between Maine and Miami. The interstate will widen from two to three lanes in a $825 million project expected to be completed by 2030.

The scope will extend from the Savannah River northward to approximately one mile beyond the U.S. 278 interchange to Hilton Head Island. Fourteen bridges will be replaced, and the Exit 8 interchange will be reconfigured into a new, increasingly popular type of roadway designed to keep traffic flowing and reduce collisions.

The upgrades are designed to reduce bottlenecks through the Hardeeville zone, currently one of the worst rural interstates for freight mobility, a 2021 SCDOT I-95 feasibility report found.

In the short-term, however, more traffic headaches are possible. Craig Winn, the SCDOT Program Manager for the Lowcountry, said the current two lanes of traffic will be kept open — at least during peak hours.

“We do lane closures a little bit differently than other states. We do have restrictions on our primary routes, our interstate systems, where there’s only certain periods of time where the contractors can actually close lanes down,” Winn said.

A new type of interchange

Hilton Head’s Exit 8 is being reconfigured into what is called a “diverging diamond interchange,” which looks a bit like shoelaces tied into several knots.

Although they might look complex from a birds-eye view, SCDOT said diverging diamonds can be a “game changer” for high-traffic areas.

This new-style intersection improves traffic flow by eliminating the need for drivers to make left turns across oncoming traffic. Instead, it temporarily shifts drivers in both directions to the opposite sides of the road. Clear signage, pavement markings and traffic signals help guide drivers through the roadway.

“Over the past few years, multiple interchanges throughout the state have been converted to DDIs and helped to reduce conflict points with crossing traffic,” SCDOT said in a Facebook post.

Once the project is finished, a driver leaving Hilton Head on U.S. 278 going to I-95 southbound will approach a traffic light. When the light is green, the driver will cross the intersection and be in what would conventionally be the eastbound lanes. The driver can then make a left turn directly onto the I-95 southbound on-ramp.

Similarly, eastbound U.S. 278 traffic, on a green light, will cross over to the westbound lanes and merge onto northbound I-95, eliminating the need for separate left-turn signals. Drivers who want to remain traveling east or west on U.S. 278 will encounter another traffic signal. If the light is green, they will be funneled back to what is considered the “normal” side of the highway.

The Exit 8 project also involves eliminating the intersection at Medical Center Drive, which provides access to hotels, restaurants and Novant Health’s Coastal Carolina Medical Center. SCDOTs plans show the intersection will be moved approximately one-fifth of a mile to Dolnik Drive.

A traffic circle will be built where this new road connects to Brickyard Road, allowing drivers to head west, looping back to the shops, hotels and hospital and apartments currently under construction.

At Purrysburg Road just over the state border with Georgia, the city of Hardeeville will build a new interchange with I-95, Exit 3. In a September interview, SCDOTs Winn said he did not have a build date, but was expecting to seek bids at the end of the year.

SCDOT plans show that Exit 3 will also likely be a DDI.

Plans for Hardeeville’s Exit 5

Hardeeville, which has experienced growth as a major shipping and logistics hub, will see some modifications to Exit 5. SCDOT plans to change the off-ramps from the interstate so that they end at a traffic signal, instead of forcing drivers to yield to traffic from U.S. 17.

A new frontage road connecting to U.S. 17 will also be built farther away from the interchange, plans show. The road will direct traffic behind gas stations, restaurants and fireworks stores.

Hardeeville’s growth is driven by the area’s proximity to the Savannah Ports, I-95 and rail lines. Millions of square feet of logistics and manufacturing space are quickly appearing along the U.S. 17 corridor; the South Atlantic Logistics Terminal alone will span over 800 acres and is planned to include as much as 6 million square feet of warehouse and industrial space upon completion, breaking ground in November 2024.

More large fulfillment centers means more truck traffic, and the new traffic signals are designed to offer some relief.