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After $190M shortfall, county and town propose scaled-down Hilton Head bridge package
Summary
Facing an approximate $190 million funding gap, county and town officials proposed a repackage that keeps $300 million in combined funds — including a $120 million DOT grant — to build a three-lane‑designed eastbound bridge (striped as two lanes initially) replacing the failing single eastbound span; the plan will be presented to the State Infrastructure Bank next week for approval.
Jared told the committee the Hilton Head bridge project faces a significant funding shortfall and that county and town leaders have jointly agreed on a repackage they will ask the state to approve. "What's transpired over the last couple months ... we have a $190,000,000 shortfall," Jared said, and county and town officials have "developed and agreed on a plan" to propose a scaled-down project to the State Infrastructure Bank.
Under the repackage Jared described, the proposal would retain approximately $300 million in combined funding (county funds plus a $120 million state DOT grant) to replace the eastbound span with a new structure designed for three lanes but initially striped as two lanes. Jared said the plan addresses the immediate safety and structural concerns of the existing single-span eastbound section and is designed for a 75-year lifespan: "It's not the full 6 lane bridge that we had envisioned, but it does address a lot of the concerns ... The bridge is designed for a 75 year lifespan." The county and town will meet next week with the state infrastructure bank and DOT; if the bank approves the package, DOT would move forward with the redefined project. If the bank refuses or approves less than the requested $120 million, the county and town would re-evaluate options, which could include a DOT-only replacement of the single span.
Committee members discussed whether federalization or a future sales-tax measure might be used to fund the remaining lanes; staff noted the earliest a future county sales-tax measure could be filed is 2026 and that packaging clearly defined projects could improve voter support for future funding rounds. No final local decision was made at the meeting; committee members asked for continued updates and clear timelines for the State Infrastructure Bank review and DOT response.
