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Transportation advisory committee recommends safety, widening and resurfacing priorities for proposed sales tax
Summary
The Transportation Advisory Committee presented a prioritized, planning‑level list of projects — led by $326 million for intersection and safety improvements — and urged formation of an oversight committee if voters approve a county sales‑tax referendum. Council agreed to post project details and consider a resolution May 25.
The Beaufort County Transportation Advisory Committee on May 11 delivered a planning‑level recommendation for a proposed county sales tax to fund roads and safety improvements, with intersection and safety projects at the top of the list.
Lisa Selka, who led the 15‑member advisory panel, told county council the committee considered more than 1,500 projects totaling about $1.5 billion and narrowed its focus to safety, widening, and resurfacing categories. "The number one category is intersection and safety improvements," Selka said, adding the committee recommended $326,000,000 for those projects and urged posting the full project list online for public review.
Selka said the committee prioritized work that would have measurable safety or mobility benefits for motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and emergency responders and recommended establishing a publicly accountable oversight committee to monitor progress and finances should the referendum pass.
Council members praised the committee's broad outreach and repeated emphasis on safety. One councilmember said the county must coordinate with municipalities and the state to avoid shifting bottlenecks to neighboring jurisdictions; Selka replied the TAC had met with town officials and the state delegation and had tried to align projects accordingly.
Selka and other staff emphasized the estimates are planning level, not final construction budgets. "Individual projects will require further development, scope confirmation, cost refinement and public engagement before implementation," she said.
Next steps: the committee's recommendations will be considered by the public facilities committee and the council on May 25, with staff and the TAC proposing an oversight structure for program transparency.
(Reporting in this article is based on the TAC presentation and council discussion, SEG 1348'SEG 1611 and SEG 1612'SEG 1965.)
