Traffic

Here's why your Friday morning commute onto Hilton Head took longer than usual

By Lisa Wilson
Friday morning's eastbound traffic backup on U.S. 278 extends back from the Hilton Head bridges to the Burnt Church Road intersection. The disruption was caused when a vehicle became disabled on the bridges.
Friday morning's eastbound traffic backup on U.S. 278 extends back from the Hilton Head bridges to the Burnt Church Road intersection. The disruption was caused when a vehicle became disabled on the bridges. Jay Karr jkarr@islandpacket.com

A disabled vehicle on the Hilton Head Island bridge backed up eastbound lanes of U.S. 278 from the bridge for several miles on Friday morning.

Traffic was backed up from the bridge into Bluffton — at least as far as Tanger Outlets 1 — just before 8 a.m., when the vehicle was cleared, according to Capt. Bob Bromage, Beaufort County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

A later accident between the two eastbound bridges after the disabled vehicle was removed kept traffic heavy.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol responded to that accident and moved those vehicles off the roadway, Bromage said.

The Highway Patrol's real-time traffic information system indicated officers got the call about the accident at 8:19 a.m.

Details about the cause of that accident were not immediately available.

Traffic remained heavy going from Bluffton to Hilton Head Island after 9:30 a.m., according to the Beaufort County traffic cameras.

This story was originally published July 6, 2018 at 8:27 AM.

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