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Local advisory chair outlines $780 million transportation plan, urges voters to weigh county penny referendum
Summary
A committee chair presented a scaled-back Beaufort County transportation 'penny' plan and timeline, explaining why county council extended the referendum’s duration and added a bond question; the committee recommended an oversight board and interactive project map to guide spending.
A chair of the county Transportation Penny Advisory Committee described the group’s work and urged Bluffton residents to learn about a proposed transportation sales-tax referendum that could appear on the November ballot.
The committee chair, identified in the meeting only as Lisa, told the Bluffton Town Council that the panel pared an initial project list from about $1.47 billion down to roughly $780 million aimed at an eight-year (county amendment extended to nine years at first reading) program of intersection safety, resurfacing, dirt-road paving and targeted widening. "The goal is to get it on the ballot on election day," Lisa said, adding the committee recommended a municipal role on an oversight body to receive quarterly updates.
The presentation traced the committee’s outreach — nine public meetings, coordination with municipal representatives, law enforcement and schools — and showed an interactive map of projects and estimated completion windows. Lisa said the package includes 45 safety/intersection projects, 16 resurfacing projects, 18 dirt-road paving projects and four widening projects; the committee recommended design and right-of-way efforts be completed so construction can begin quickly if voters approve the penny.
County council members amended the draft ordinance in early readings, removing a proposal to tax unprepared food and adding a bond question that would allow bonding up to $450 million to accelerate construction. Lisa said that removal of the unprepared-food revenue forced the amendment to lengthen the penny’s collection period so the program could still fund the identified projects.
Supporters at the meeting emphasized safety benefits, bus and school-bus flow, and traffic relief for daily commuters. Skeptical council members voiced the usual questions about cost, phasing and whether municipal or county budgets could shoulder some responsibilities instead; Lisa answered that municipalities could manage some projects under memoranda of understanding to speed delivery.
Next steps: county council planned a third reading on June 22 and additional public outreach via the project website and town channels. If approved by voters, staff told the council that some resurfacing would begin within months when bonded funds are available; otherwise, collection and staged execution could delay visible work by two years or more.
