Need some holiday cheer, Beaufort drivers? This Boundary Street news might help

Christmas should come a little early for Beaufort drivers who have navigated a changing and sometimes frustrating Boundary Street over the past two years.

The final traffic pattern for the $33-million road project will be in place by the end of the day Friday, city projects and facilities director Neal Pugliese said. That means a new intersection will be completely open, medians and U-turn areas in place and two lanes will again turn left from Boundary Street onto Robert Smalls Parkway.

“That’s what we’re looking at,” Pugliese said. “We’re going to be ahead of schedule.”

The final quarter of the intersection of Boundary Street and Robert Smalls Parkway could open by mid-morning Friday. The reworked intersection includes a new section of road headed north between Farmers Home Furniture and Chick-fil-A. The new road curves along the marsh to connect with Polk Street behind the fast-food restaurant and Walgreens.

Much of Polk Street, which runs parallel to Boundary, had already reopened to traffic after being repaved and striped with new parking spaces.

Raised concrete medians were recently installed as part of the redevelopment. The work is expected to be finished early next year, though contractors have until May.

Utility crews are feeding cables underground before the poles can come down, Pugliese said.

The new intersection was a major aspect of the work, creating a square, four-way crossing west of the previous lopsided interchange. An old KFC restaurant and two homes were demolished to clear the way for the new road.

This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Need some holiday cheer, Beaufort drivers? This Boundary Street news might help."