278 Bridge and Corridor Expansion Update 5/27/25

The Hilton Head Island bridge project has been going on for several years. It is one of the biggest projects facing our island and our county right now. We all know the traffic issues that exist and we all know something needs to be done, and we know the Mackay span is at the end of its life.

Here’s the latest scope of the project - a new 3 lane bridge (striped for 2) built for eastbound traffic with Pickney Island access from Moss Creek to Jenkins Island. Once that bridge is built the Mackay span will be removed but the Skull Creek span will stay but not be functional. The town of HIlton Head will receive no funding to address the 278 corridor issues that are the true cause of the congestion that everyone faces when coming on or off the island during peak times.

May 12 there was a SIB (State Infrastructure Bank) Board Meeting, and they did not approve the joint resolution between the town and the county. They stated the scope of the project did not meet their original intergovernmental agreement (IGA) requirements and needed revisions. During a special called meeting of County Council on May 18 two options were presented. Option 1 was to allow the SCDOT to come in and build a 3 lane bridge from Moss Creek to Pickney Island to replace the Mackay span. This would leave funding available for Hilton Head to address the corridor deficiencies where the majority of congestion issues arise. Option 2 was for us to revise the resolution to meet the SIB requirements and resubmit it to the SIB within 30 days. This would keep the scope of the project at 3 lanes from Moss Creek to Jenkins Island. I voted for Option 1 so the town could make the needed infrastructure repairs to the corridor. The majority vote was made by council to make revisions to the resolution and resubmit it to the SIB by their 30 day deadline. May 27 the revised resolution was presented to the County Council with various changes including changing the funding sequence so county money would be used first, adjusting the timeline for a completion date of end of 2030, and agreeing that project cost overrages would be shared proportionally between the County and SCDOT. I again voted no as this would take all funding away from Hilton Head to make corridor repairs. The majority voted “yes” to present this to the SIB for a decision by them on June 16.