Lillian VestThe South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Commission has approved updated project plans for the U.S. 278 Corridor Project.
Beaufort County, in coordination with SCDOT, proposed the project to make improvements to the U.S. 278 corridor between Bluffton and Hilton Head Island, initially approving the plans in July 2020. The county’s updated plans for the project will downsize a proposed bridge expansion from six to three lanes.
The project, which is estimated to cost a total of $311 million, will reduce scope while advancing through the initial design phase. The project is supported, in part, through a $120 million investment from the South Carolina State Infrastructure Bank.
According to commission meeting documents, the project must be completed by 2031. There is also a 20% contingency plan for the county to help with overrun costs and SCDOT agreed to pay 30% of overrun costs.
According to SCDOT officials, the revised plans include changes designed to cut costs, reduce delays, avoid disrupting a waterline that supplies 20% of the island’s drinking water and replace the aging bridge from the Bluffton Parkway flyover to the Windmill Harbor intersection. Though, as part of the project plans, the bridge replacement was downsized from a six-lane bridge to a three-lane bridge.
Looking ahead, officials will finalize the design phase, with preliminary work to be completed over the next two years. Following the design phase, Beaufort County officials will collaborate with the Federal Highway Administration before opening bids on project for private developers.
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