Roundabouts, bike lanes and more: Hilton Head’s Main Street is set for a makeover
Hilton Head Island’s Main Street is set to look much different in the coming years. A preliminary design would remove the median, add bike lanes and enhance pathway crossings, according to Transportation Program Manager James Iwanicki.
There are also plans to add new roundabouts at Wilborn Road and Hospital Center Boulevard, but there isn’t a timeline for construction or planning, according to Iwanicki. The town council hasn’t made any formal decisions on the design. However, it put $2 million in its 2025 budget for Main Street improvements. The budget didn’t specify what the money would go toward.
“We’re starting with the initial design phases of it,” Iwanicki said, explaining that Main Street’s median removal is the trade-off for bike lanes.
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The street runs parallel to U.S. 278 on the island’s north end and near Hilton Head Plantation. Drivers use it to get to Hilton Head Hospital, the island’s public schools and shops in the Main Street Village such as Harris Teeter and Burke’s Pharmacy. In December, residents described the street as a “booby trap,” and the town has since repaired potholes, damaged road sections, curbs, gutters and sidewalks.
The street’s repairs, and upcoming makeover was made possible late last year after a private POA transferred ownership to the town. The street was built in the mid-to-late 1980s, but as Hilton Head became busier and the streets more heavily trafficked, the private POA couldn’t afford its upkeep.
This story was originally published June 10, 2024 at 9:25 AM.
