Letter: Answers to Lady’s Island issues

In response to a recent letter, I want to provide accurate information about the city of Beaufort’s work with Beaufort County to improve traffic flow on Lady’s Island and to better prepare for future growth.

As many readers are aware from past articles in the Beaufort Gazette and other media, we, the S.C. Department of Transportation and federal agencies have studied the possibility of a four-lane, fixed-span bridge connecting Lady’s Island to some point in northern Beaufort County. The finding: The cost is too high, the impact to wetlands too great, and the current need doesn’t justify such infrastructure. Such a structure may be built, but most likely not until 2030 or beyond.

The McTeer Bridge recently was enlarged to improve traffic flow from Beaufort-Port Royal to the Sea Islands. It is a vital part of the emergency routing for evacuations.

Regarding the planned commercial development along Sea Island Parkway and Lady’s Island Drive/Sams Point Road: We, the county’s traffic engineering department and SCDOT continue to examine options to improve the Publix intersection on Lady’s Island. Among those options are adding turn lanes to keep traffic flowing better and providing alternate routes around that intersection.

Developers seeking to improve property within the Beaufort city limits work with our Planning Department and other agencies as may be required, including SCDOT when it comes to traffic flow and roadway improvements.

We value grassroots community input. However, we hired experts to provide technical information and possible solutions to these challenges.

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Letter: Answers to Lady’s Island issues."