Town addresses concerns over Highway 278 project

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (WSAV) – Highway 278 is the only way on and off Hilton Head Island.

Just one crash or the morning rush can turn the bridge into a parking lot.

“It’s impossible, impossible to get on the island, impossible to get off the island,” said Steven Baer, a Hilton Head resident.

It’s a project the town, the county and the state have been discussing for years.

There’s been debate over left turns, right turns, bowtie intersections and where to put them.

Tearing down and replacing the Mackay Creek Bridge is part of the plan.

“The William Hilton Parkway corridor is vitally important as a lifeline both for residents and for commerce here on Hilton Head Island,” said Shawn Colin, Hilton Head Island’s Assistant Town Manager/Community Development. “It’s important to make sure that folks can travel through that corridor, that also the corridor is done in the right character, and respects the communities that it flows through.”

One of those is the historic Gullah Geechee Stoney community. Some fear the homes their ancestors built will be torn down and replaced with asphalt.

“Please listen to our people. We only have what God blessed us with and our ancestors looked out for us long before we even got here,” said Louise Cohen, founder and director of the Gullah Museum of Hilton Head. “They bought land to make sure that we had a place to live here on Hilton Head Island.”

The town knows about these concerns and says it’s a delicate balance between improving the roadways and protecting the Stoney community.

“Ultimately, we’d like to not have any impact through that community or from the project in total,” Colin said.

Baer, who has lived on Hilton Head for decades, says no matter what he and his neighbors say, it won’t matter.

“They don’t listen to citizens,” he said. “There’s a lot of good technical abilities amongst the citizen community. That’s why we formed the Technical Working Group to help them. We’re not trying to do their jobs, but we’re trying to help them ask the right questions.”

But the town disputes that.

Fixing Highway 278 has been in the works for years, and the town says it’s been relaying residents’ concerns and will do its best for all sides.

“If the town and county say this is what we would prefer for our community for a project, then I’m optimistic that the SCDOT (South Carolina Department of Transportation) and federal highway will listen to those concerns and hopefully advance as many of the requests as we have,” Colin said.

The next town council meeting is on May 8 when discussions on this project are expected to continue.