Beaufort County Staff outlines dirt-road five-year plan, proposes ordinance to formalize right-of-way

Brian, county transportation staff, updated the Beaufort County Transportation Committee on the county’s long-running dirt-roads program and the ordinance staff plans to send to County Council to formalize right-of-way acquisition.

The presentation said the county has improved 317 roads totaling about 105 miles since 1994 and that current funding—about $2 million a year drawn from the county’s vehicle-registration “tag” program—now yields roughly 0.75 miles of paving per year. Staff told the committee that, after excluding roads where property owners have asked not to be paved, roughly 170 roads (about 55 miles) remain unimproved and that 32 of the roads evaluated in the most recent study were classified as “legacy” roads, which county policy permits only routine maintenance for unless right-of-way is formalized.

Why this matters: at current funding and production rates the county will take decades to pave remaining roads unless additional funding or a change in right-of-way status is achieved. Committee members and staff emphasized that uncertainty about title and donated right-of-way—especially heirs-property cases—has repeatedly delayed projects.

Staff described the ordinance process the committee discussed in public facilities this week. Under the proposal, the county would: identify right-of-way needs and property owners, send a notice of intent to participate to affected owners, and proceed to formalize donated right-of-way when a majority indicate willingness. Brian said staff would then negotiate donations and, if necessary, seek council direction on next steps if a supermajority threshold is not reached. "If we get to a point where 80% say yes, then we'll take it back to council if we need to figure out another process on those other 20% of roads," Brian said.

The ordinance would allow staff to pursue a friendly condemnation process in unclear-title or heirs-property situations subject to County Council approval. Brian said alternatives for roads that cannot obtain right-of-way include continuing the current minimal maintenance regime or ceasing maintenance and reverting the lane to private status.

Committee discussion touched on the program’s history and on the practical consequences for emergency response; member John Glover, committee member, noted years of delay on some roads and urged coordination with council members to resolve title issues. Staff also reminded the committee that the five-year paving plans are produced by consultants using criteria such as average daily traffic, number of houses served, right-of-way status and permitting complexity, and that projects commonly require one year of design before construction.

Ending: Staff said the ordinance will go to County Council for first reading at the end of the month and that the committee will return to the issue as right-of-way work and funding permit.