Saturday traffic is a nightmare on Hilton Head bridge. Avoid it during these hours

If you’re driving to Hilton Head Island on a Saturday, you may want to avoid arriving in the afternoon.

Traffic slows to a crawl and stays that way until the evening as vacationers make their way to the island.

Traffic tends to be the worst on Saturdays, according to data from the South Carolina Department of Transportation. And for the last six Saturdays, traffic slowed down significantly around 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. and stayed that way until about 7 p.m., according to SCDOT.

The average speed ranged from 16 mph to 29 mph during that time frame. At other times, the average speed stayed mostly in the 40s and 50s.

The bridge speed limit is 55 mph.

To make sure the coast is clear, you can check out the Beaufort County traffic cameras before heading out.

In April, the island had a record-breaking 72,389 vehicles cross the bridges in a single day. The next highest volume day of the year was June 29, when 71,097 vehicles crossed the bridge.

A record number of tourists — 2.74 million — visited the island in 2017, the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce said previously.

The chamber did not return a voicemail and three emails Friday seeking comment on this year’s tourist season.

The good news for anyone leaving the island is that the westbound bridge doesn’t experience the same level of congestion on Saturdays, with average speeds mostly in the 40s and 50s throughout the day.

Beaufort County will ask residents to vote on a sales tax referendum this fall, which would fund the expansion of the Hilton Head bridges to three lanes, helping to ease that congestion.

This story was originally published July 13, 2018 at 2:49 PM.