Can I get into Beaufort Co., Hilton Head after lane reversal begins for Hurricane Dorian?
Once lane reversals start on U.S. 278 on Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County, drivers will still be able to access the island, according to Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner.
At noon Monday, lane reversals began on U.S. 278, and one of the eastbound lanes was turned to westbound between Spanish Wells Road on the island and Moss Creek Drive in Bluffton.
Free-flowing traffic will still be allowed onto the island and into Beaufort County until further notice or when a re-entry effort begins, Tanner said.
Tolls on the Cross Island Parkway on Hilton Head have been waived, according to the town.
As of Monday, there are no other lane reversals in Beaufort County, Tanner said.
Lt. Col. Neil Baxley, commander of the Sheriff’s Office Emergency Management Division, recommended finishing evacuation preparations and “getting out of town before Wednesday morning.”
Bridges and causeways, such as the Hilton Head Island bridges, would likely close with the onset of tropical force winds, Baxley said. He said those winds could start Wednesday morning per Monday morning forecasts.
“Once tropical storm-force winds start blowing across the Hilton Head Island bridges, it is absolutely unsafe to cross those bridges, and we may have to barricade those bridges at that point,” Baxley said.
About Hurricane Dorian
Hurricane Dorian will likely affect Beaufort County from Wednesday night until Friday this week as a Category 2 or Category 3 hurricane, according to Neil Dixon, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Charleston.
Beaufort County has been ordered to evacuate by S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster. The evacuation order is in effect as of at noon on Monday.
Local schools in Beaufort and Jasper Counties are closed until further notice, according to the governor.
Baxley said the county will see between 6 and 8 inches of rain and a 6- to 8-foot storm surge associated with Dorian. He said the worst case scenario in Monday morning’s forecast would put one-third of Hilton Head Island under at least 2 feet of water.
This story was originally published September 2, 2019 at 11:21 AM.
