Town council weighs scaled‑down US‑278 bridge plan as funding shortfall forces choices

Hilton Head Island town council members, Beaufort County officials and state representatives discussed a scaled‑back option for the US‑278 (William Hilton Parkway) corridor and the structurally weakened Mackin Creek eastbound bridge at a Jan. 9 special workshop, after a November referendum failure and letters from the South Carolina Infrastructure Bank and the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) tightened the timeline for a funding plan.

The meeting centered on a proposal circulated by State Senator Tom Davis that would build a new three‑lane eastbound span from Moss Creek to Windmill Harbor at an estimated $250 million–$258 million, use roughly $40 million left over for on‑island corridor and Stoney Historic Community improvements, and preserve the existing westbound span for the near term. That scaled approach, proponents said, might keep the project eligible for a categorical exclusion under federal rules and avoid an immediate suspension of the broader US‑278 project.

Why it matters: the project as previously scoped relied on a combination of a $120 million grant from the South Carolina State Infrastructure Bank (SIB), local county contributions and $90 million the county expected from a special‑use sales tax referendum. The referendum failed Nov. 5, 2024, and county and state correspondence since then has asked Beaufort County to explain how it will cover an approximately $190 million shortfall. A November 18 letter from SCDOT Secretary Justin Powell and a November 7 letter from SIB chair John White set deadlines and raised the possibility of terminating or restructuring agreements if funding is not identified.

Town staff and Senator Davis told council the current ‘‘universe of money’’ that can be counted today — the town contribution in land, money already spent, an additional $16.1 million Secretary Powell offered, and other in‑hand state and local funds — totals about $298 million. Under that calculation, the scaled bridge plus shore improvements would be within that pool,…