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Beaufort County committee narrows projects, asks for clearer cost estimates ahead of transportation referendum
Summary
The Transportation Advisory Committee reviewed dozens of studies and a draft project list, heard public priorities from across the county and asked staff for concise cost estimates and maps so members can choose a balanced referendum package that includes at least one large "big rock" project alongside smaller safety and paving items.
Beaufort County’s Transportation Advisory Committee met Feb. 18 to begin translating years of planning studies into a draft package for an upcoming transportation sales-tax referendum, emphasizing the need for clear cost estimates, visible near-term projects and community buy-in.
Brian Bauer, the county’s director of engineering, told the committee staff has compiled about 32 candidate projects drawn from Lowcountry Council of Governments (LCOG) and Lowcountry Area Transportation Study (LATS) studies and is preparing up-to-date estimates. "We can start by getting you information on revenue for different time frames — roughly $300,000,000 for a four-year package — and then show which projects fit," Bauer said (Brian Bauer).
Why it matters: committee members said voters want a package that is easy to understand and shows quick, visible results. Several speakers urged pairing a single large corridor project with a limited number of smaller safety, intersection and paving efforts so residents across Beaufort County feel represented.
Committee members repeatedly asked for concise materials. Charles Curry, a County Transportation Committee member, told colleagues the challenge is packaging the referendum so voters will support it: "There's no shortage of deserving projects," Curry said, "but we need a presentation that educates the public on advantages and gets buy-in" (Charles Curry).
Key details and next steps
- Project list and estimates: Bauer said staff is preparing a digestible slide deck and a Dropbox of source studies; preliminary cost estimates were reported to be in initial review and may be available as early as next week. He emphasized that most candidate projects come from existing studies and that short-, mid- and long-term horizons will guide prioritization (Brian Bauer).
- Revenue scenarios: Bauer offered a planning ballpark — roughly $300 million for a four-year package — and noted that longer packages raise more revenue. The committee discussed packaging strategies: adopt one major "big rock" (for example, a widening or corridor project) and fill remaining capacity with medium and small improvement projects.
- Dirt-road and right-of-way inventory: Bauer said the county maintains about 172 dirt roads and that only roughly 40 of them have full right-of-way (green-sign roads) and are immediately pave-ready. The committee requested a searchable list and supporting GIS map showing those roads (Brian Bauer).
- Signals and technology: Members discussed options from basic retiming to adaptive signal systems, camera/radar detection and ITS planning. Bauer noted recent successes with signal retiming on Boundary Street and Buckwalter and explained that DOT product lists and MUTCD signal warrants constrain what can be installed on state routes.
- Fiscal transparency: A member asked what had happened to over-collections from the 2018 sales-tax package. Bauer said state law requires over-collections to be allocated to other referendum projects and that council votes determine reallocations.
Quotes and exchanges
"We can start by getting you information on revenue for different time frames — roughly $300,000,000 for a four-year package — and then show which projects fit," Bauer said when asked about funding scenarios (Brian Bauer). "There's no shortage of deserving projects," Charles Curry added, "but we need to come up with a package that is acceptable to the public" (Charles Curry).
What remains unresolved
Committee members asked staff to: provide a concise project list sorted by estimated cost and readiness, produce a GIS map identifying where projects lie, provide counts and status for dirt roads and right-of-way, and supply updated, project-level cost estimates. Staff agreed to supply those materials and to invite the state DOT and LCOG planners back for a more detailed presentation.
The committee set its next meeting for Feb. 25 at Port Royal Town Hall to continue review and public outreach planning.
