Access to Pinckney Island in limbo as Hilton Head prepares to vote on bridge plan
Access to Pinckney Island is bound to change for drivers coming onto Hilton Head Island.
Once the new eastbound bridge is built — a process that will take years — drivers coming from Bluffton will no longer be able to turn right into the public boat and landing dock, where the ferry to Daufuskie Island picks up passengers. Instead, they will have to continue about a mile past Pinckney to the Windmill Harbor intersection, where they would either have to make a U-turn or turn left to get re-directed back on the island.
Town and county officials agree that access to Pinckney is a major concern, but while Beaufort County leaders unanimously supported a joint resolution to move forward with the project, Hilton Head Town Council members remain skeptical ahead of their vote next week. If the town rejects the resolution, the county will have to reevaluate ahead of a March 31 deadline, when they are due to provide the state with a funding plan.
“Come hell or high water, I’m voting it down,” Steve DeSimone, town council member from Ward 3 said Wednesday during a planning workshop. “I don’t know if it will make a difference to the other six of you, or if it will make a difference to Columbia, but that’s where I stand.”
Among other concerns about the bridge design, DeSimone predicted that changes in access to Pinckney will yield tremendous issues for drivers in the corridor. It could disrupt traffic patterns leading on and off the island with the inclusion of a U-turn, both for citizens and emergency services that receive calls from the boat ramp, DeSimone said. The alignment of the west-bound bridge, whenever that new construction occurs, was another concern he raised.
Town council will vote on the joint resolution on March 4, which includes the funding and scope of the project: the construction of a new eastbound lifeline bridge without multi-use pathways. DeSimone said that the vote is the most significant in the 40 years since the town has been incorporated.
Regardless of design chosen, the access to Pinckney Island as drivers know it would be changed throughout new bridge construction, according to Jared Fralix, assistant county administrator of engineering.
How will drivers get to Pinckney?
Pinckney Island is split by the bridge. The publicly-accessible C.C. Haigh, Jr. Boat Landing is off the eastbound side of the bridge and off the westbound side is the island’s national wildlife refuge — with 14 miles of trails and protected salt marsh and tidal creeks. Both sides of the island are currently accessible from the bridge.
A concept detailing Pinckney Island’s new access requires additional fine tuning and engineering, Fralix said. It could be designed with a U-turn function or a left turn, but either way, drivers will be re-directed onto the west-bound side of the bridge.
Hilton Head Mayor Alan Perry voiced frustration with the lack of a clear design.
”We’re trying to make a decision based off of not knowing,” Perry said. “And trying to work in great faith with the county to show that we’re working together. But if there is not proper access to Pinckney, we are losing even more.”
Is a joint resolution necessary?
Simply put, a joint resolution is not necessary to move forward with this project, according to Fralix.
The goal is to present “the most compelling package” to retain a grant of $120 million from the State Infrastructure Bank, Fralix said. This accounts for about 40% of the project’s overall funding of nearly $300 million.
In total, the county is contributing $101 million to the project. The town is contributing $3.35 million.
“If the town is okay with the joint resolution as proposed and they want to participate in statement of support, this is their way to do that,” Fralix said. “If they don’t, the county will still, by its own right, make a resolution, prepare that and include that in the package [for the state].”
If the town wants to make adjustments or request a delay, the county will have to make a decision on how to proceed during their next council meeting on March 10, Fralix said.
