Staff outlines history of Beaufort County sales-tax programs and explains why the US‑278 bridge scope was reduced

Beaufort County staff told a newly formed advisory committee on Feb. 4 that the county has used local-option transportation sales tax repeatedly since 1998 to deliver major road, bridge and pathway projects and that inflation and a failed referendum have left the largest planned project, the US‑278 bridge corridor, with a funding shortfall.

"Beaufort County has a really strong history in local option sales tax," Assistant County Administrator Jared Freilix said in a 50‑minute history and status presentation. He reviewed three earlier transportation sales-tax efforts (1998, 2006 and 2018) and said the county collected about $146.5 million on the 2018 program once over‑collections were included.

Freilix told the committee that construction‑cost inflation and market shifts significantly increased estimates on large projects. He said a bridge program previously scoped at roughly $300 million later had an updated estimate of about $488 million — a roughly 67% increase — creating a large funding gap. "So that is the reason ... why we don't have the bridge as far along as we would have," he said.

Because a county referendum proposed in November 2024 did not pass, staff and council reprioritized the existing funds and adjusted project scopes. For the US‑278 bridge the county and DOT agreed to construct the eastbound spans and design the structure to allow future addition of westbound lanes, but the current funded phase will not include the full roadway widening or a pedestrian pathway. Freilix described the plan as a phased delivery that preserves options for completing all six lanes if future funding becomes available.

Staff said other projects previously on the 2018 list remain priorities in reduced scope: selected intersection improvements on Ladies Island (including dual left-turn lanes at SC‑802 and SC‑21), targeted widening near major retail nodes, and a prioritized subset of previously planned pathways (the 2018 program included 24 pathways but staff said not all could be funded). Freilix advised the committee that right‑of‑way acquisition and DOT ownership of many corridors complicate timeline and delivery.

Freilix summarized expected schedule milestones: design work and environmental review are ongoing, construction procurement is expected in 2027 with construction starting in 2028 for selected projects, and most projects shown on staff maps (excluding the bridge) were expected to be complete by 2028. He cautioned that "nobody's gonna see this work before November 2026" and that the committee's role is to prioritize and recommend a specific set of projects and a sales‑tax duration for council and voters.

Members pressed staff for details: whether funds earmarked for the bridge remained, how dirt roads would be included and what studies are available to support project selection. Freilix said the county has studies and plans (resurfacing, dirt‑road paving, safety action plans and several corridor studies) and that two on‑call engineering firms are preparing scopes and cost estimates for committee review.

The committee asked staff to supply the slide deck, project lists and cost worksheets to members via the clerk; staff said materials will be posted to the committee website and distributed to members.

The meeting closed after members discussed meeting cadence and next steps.