To: Jerri Butler, butlerjl@scdot.org    Please forward to Chairman White. Thank you!

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Chairman White:

Please do not reward a Bait and Switch and terrible planning.

In 2018, Beaufort County taxpayers were sold and voted to tax themselves for a 278 Corridor Project that promised Safety and Congestion relief between Moss creek and Squire Pope (County version) and Spanish Wells Road (SCDOT version). (See Figures 1 and 2.) Similar representations were made to SIB. (See Figure 3.) That would have covered major congestion, safety, worker commute, and pollution issues, including those on Hilton Head.

Over the next 7 years, the project veered wildly off course including a 135’ wide 11-lane mega-bridge, observation platforms, a 14’ wide bike path to Bluffton, and a linear park using the old bridges. Underlying this, there was a profound lack of scientific tactical and strategic Master Planning, begged for by Citizens, for the entire corridor from Bluffton to and including CIP links. In fact, Councils shunned, contaminated, diverted and rejected any effort to accomplish that.

The resultant project became bloated, and ran out of money, when a bailout was rejected by voters.

Please do not reward this with another off-course funding bailout trying to capture SIB’s $120 million, while defunding all downstream congestion, safety and pollution control efforts. If we were to just repair/replace the Mackay span, we would not need the SIB funds, and could accelerate the span  replacement, aiming to use the NEPA Categorical Exclusion (C.E.) method. That is the most rapid path to solve the span safety problem. Over $70 million already funded dollars would then be available for congestion, safety and pollution control.

There is another concern: SCDOT and the County need voter matching dollars to help with their road improvement program, including a planned 2026 Transportation Tax Referendum. But, voters have become so disillusioned with the Bait and Switch on this past Tax Referendum, that it is unlikely they would let themselves be led down the same path again!

Here is an outline of a better path:

1.      Begin work on the Mackay span ASAP, aiming to use the C.E. process.

2.      Begin developing a coherent Master Plan for the entire corridor, including at least efficient links to/from the CIP. (This must include meaningful Citizen steering, participation and review, unlike those deliberately cut off in past efforts.)

3.      Keep SIB’s $120 million and hold it until Step 4 is approved in 2026.

4.      Use Step 2  to judge voter support and buy-in via the 2026 Tax Referendum.

Sincerely,

Steven M. Baer    Beaufort County Council, Retired