Beaufort County advisory panel reviews projects, hears bridge, pathway and dirt‑road appeals ahead of proposed sales‑tax referendum

Beaufort County’s Transportation Advisory Committee met Feb. 18 for a detailed briefing on county and regional transportation studies and to collect priorities for a proposed sales‑tax referendum intended to fund roads, safety and multimodal projects.

The committee — chaired by Chairwoman Solca — opened with routine business, approved the meeting agenda and minutes (with three abstentions on the minutes vote), and amended its public schedule to move two working community meetings (April 1 and April 22) to 5:30–7:30 p.m. to make attendance easier for working residents.

During the public comment period, Stu Rodman urged officials to plan for a more robust bridge solution for the Hilton Head corridor, arguing the county’s existing bridges are near the end of their useful life and warning of potential restrictions or shutdowns. "The bridges are coming to the end of their useful life," Rodman said, recommending the eastbound span be built wider (he suggested six lanes) to avoid future capacity shortfalls and to allow reuse of existing structures for alternate crossings. He estimated the main‑bridge work at about $5,060,000,000.

Ray Cipollini called on the committee to include $55,000,000 that was earmarked in a 2024 referendum for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, citing the Federal Highway Administration’s Complete Streets policy and the state of South Carolina’s adoption of…