Three Hilton Head, Beaufort bridges get poor rating in federal study
Three bridges in Beaufort County were given poor condition ratings in a federal study, but two of the bridges identified shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.
In a county with multiple rivers and an abundance of islands, commuters will often cross more than one bridge regardless of their destination. But bridges often degrade in quality over time, with the county’s explosive growth in the last decade likely hastening that process.
The Federal Highway Administration released a study of over 9,000 bridges in South Carolina, rating their condition on a scale of good, fair and poor. Of the 72 bridges graded in Beaufort County two well-known, and perhaps infamous, bridges scored the lowest rating.
The two notable bridges in question are U.S. 278 over Mackay Creek, connecting Hilton Head Island to Bluffton, and the Woods Memorial Bridge, connecting Beaufort to Lady’s Island, according to Hannah Robinson with the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
The third bridge is found along Highway 17 / 21 in Northern Beaufort County. It remains closed for repairs in after damage from a train derailment last September.
The 278 bridge is one of, if not the most traveled bridge in the county. Between May 1 and Aug. 31 of 2023, 30,400 car crossed the bridge daily. While there have been plans for years, it wasn’t until recently that the town of Hilton Head Island agreed to move forward with a plan to replace the bridge and hopefully ease traffic flow onto the island.
As for the Woods Memorial Bridge, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023. This means the only work that can be done to the bridge is regular maintenance, according to Beaufort County’s Assistant Administrator of Infrastructure Jared Fralix. Late last year the bridge was breaking down often leading to a $500,000 fix from SCDOT.
Despite the poor ratings, Fralix was optimistic about the federal report.
“There are a lot of bridges throughout the state and county that are unfortunately in poor condition, but to only have three in our county is good news,” said Fralix. “And for a plan in place to replace one of the major, most traveled bridges in our region is even better to know.”
The other 69 bridges were split with 26 good ratings and 43 fair ratings. On average Beaufort County outperformed the state by a few percentage points, with 6.2% of bridges in the state rated poor compared to 4.2% in the county.
The SCDOT received $200 million in this year’s budget dedicated to repairing worn-down bridges across the state. Officials have identified 120 bridges for which they’ll spend the money. Included in that list is U.S. 278.