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Committee urges public comment for Seabrook Island Road funding; engineer recommends milling and regrading
Summary
Committee members urged residents to submit public comments by March 31 to include Seabrook Island Road on the county sales-tax project list, stressing safety and fairness; staff reported an engineer recommended milling and resurfacing at a joint-separation location and regrading swales to remove silt, and a contractor estimate of $68,000 was reported for interim repairs.
Committee members and staff on March 19 pressed for public comment to add Seabrook Island Road to the county’s draft project list for a possible sales-tax referendum and reviewed engineer findings and repair estimates for problem locations on the island.
Town staff said the county released a draft list of projects for public comment and asked residents to submit feedback by March 31 to help place Seabrook Island Road on the county list. "They've put out that draft project list for public comment," staff member Joe said, urging the town and stakeholders to push the 'faster, fairer, safer' message and to submit comments through the county portal.
Committee members framed the request around three points: the project could be shovel-ready ('faster') when funds arrive; island residents have paid into the county transportation program and deserve consideration ('fairer'); and repeated flooding of the route can impede emergency access ('safer'). Members described multiple instances where the road flooded even on clear days and cited recent high tides and storm combinations that produced standing water.
Separately, staff reported receiving a post-construction engineer's report for the Sea Fields/MUSC segment of Seabrook Island Road. The engineer identified joint separation where an additional turn lane was added and recommended a full mill-and-resurface across that lane and regrading and removal of silt from swales that filled during heavy short-duration storms. Staff said the report and accompanying photos were sent to Sea Fields and MUSC representatives earlier the same day.
A contractor estimate discussed at the meeting put an interim milling-and-repave cost at about $68,000 to mill 2 inches and repave the damaged length of lane, which members said would preserve the roadway until the larger funded project begins.
Committee members also talked about access and driver behavior at the traffic circle and the Sea Fields/MUSC entrances, proposing improved signage, pavement markings or delineator posts to reduce wrong turns and unsafe turnarounds.
The committee urged residents, property owners and visitors to submit public comments to county council and to contact council members; staff set outreach priorities and said they will circulate model comment language to committee members.
The committee did not take a formal vote on funding or repairs at the meeting; staff will continue outreach and follow up with Sea Fields and MUSC on engineer recommendations.
