Hilton Head bridge project spurs $122M in fixes past touchpoint. What to know
The new U.S. 278 bridge project has prompted Hilton Head officials to take a look downstream.
Town officials have proposed a $122.8 million project to improve the problematic stretch of William Hilton Parkway between where the new bridge will touch down and where it intersects with Spanish Wells Road.
At a Hilton Head Island Town Council workshop Tuesday, Hilton Head Island neighbors and officials got a look at the proposal at to improve the gateway to the island, presented by MKSK, Kimley-Horn and Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering.
The project would expand roads, reconfigure two problematic intersections and improve streetscapes along William Hilton Parkway on Jenkins Island and the historic Stoney neighborhood.
The proposal is separate from the ongoing U.S. 278 bridge replacement project, where the South Carolina Department of Transportation and Beaufort County are proposing to replace the two eastbound bridges over Mackay Creek with a single, new bridge. Construction on that project is expected to begin next year.
The new bridge will have the capacity to carry up to three lanes of traffic onto the island. But when drivers touch down on Hilton Head Island, they’ll be met with a corridor with only two lanes in each direction.
The new plan, called the William Hilton Parkway Gateway Corridor Master Plan, will expand the highway so that it has three lanes in either direction all the way through to Spanish Wells Road.
“$300 million is going to the bridge, zero is going towards the corridor,” Town Manager Marc Orlando told The Packet in a previous interview. “I feel responsible and accountable to take a look at the corridor.
The project will also address longstanding safety concerns at the Squire Pope and Spanish Wells intersections.
Between 2016 and 2024, there were 1,108 collisions along the Gateway Corridor, six total fatalities, including two pedestrians and 81 major injuries. More than 40% of total collisions happened at either William Hilton Parkway and Wild Horse Road or William Hilton Parkway and Squire Pope Road, according to the master plan.
What’s being proposed?
In total, the plan consists of eight projects, with a mix of short- and long-term improvements.
Officials are proposing adding a lane in each direction on the highway between the bridge touchpoint and Squire Pope Road, and adding a pedestrian bridge to the intersection.
A new Gullah-Geechee Heritage Park will be developed near that intersection and will be connected to the Old Schoolhouse Park/Hilton Head Park.
Short-term improvements to the Spanish Wells intersection include adding new turn lanes and pathway crossings.
In the long term, officials are proposing a flyover bridge at that intersection.
Access road, pedestrian connections and cemetery improvements are being proposed on Jenkins Island.
What do people think?
Many residents spoke at the Tuesday meeting, commenting on everything from the merits of the plan itself to transparency to the project timeline.
Resident Richard Bisi said the town has been dragging its feet on the project, needs to be more transparent and hasn’t actually figured out how the changes would impact “travel time.”
“If we don’t know the expected impact on travel time, it’s fair to ask what are we actually buying, what alternatives are considered, how confident are we in the projected outcomes and how much will this really cost?” Busy said.
Another man, who said he is 61 and has lived on the island all his life, said he’s frustrated that the question is always “how can we widen the road?” when it cuts through his backyard and impacts his ability to see his mother and cousins.
He said the town should consider building roads through its many gates to improve traffic flow, instead of widening the road through Stoney.
“It’s no good. An infestation. That what I see up there, those [plans] are really beautiful, but it don’t look like me,” he said. “It looks like an attraction for tourists, not a Black guy like me. I used to walk across the road, I can’t walk across the road no more, and with that, I definitely can’t get across.”
Ward 5 Council Member Steve Alfred said he wants to see what can be done with state appropriations. He said he’s reluctant to commit millions without a concrete understanding of how changes would impact safety and travel time.
Steve DeSimone, who represents Ward 3, said at the end of the day, the project is about saving lives. It’s best not to drag it out, he said.
“We all know that if we delay we pay. You get that paralysis through analysis comment we’ve all heard of before,” DeSimone said. “We need to find this cash, and we need to get going. If we delay, we’re going to pay, guys.”
