William Hilton Parkway Gateway Corridor Project Guiding Principles

1. Fix the transportation issues in the corridor in a way that improves the safety and quality of life for all residents, workers and visitors to Hilton Head Island:
   • Address transportation needs for natural disasters and resiliency of island access
   • Consider future transportation alternatives
2. Improve the safety and quality of life for the residents of the neighborhoods and businesses directly impacted by the US 278 corridor:
   • Stoney
   • Neighborhoods on Jenkins and Hog Islands (including but not limited to Windmill Harbor)
3. Have a gateway to and from Hilton Head Island that the region will be proud of:
   • Aesthetically pleasing and reflecting the Hilton Head Island/Low Country values
   • Safe and functional pathways for pedestrians and cyclists
   • Minimizes environmental impacts and enhances the national asset of Pinckney Island

Background and Timeline

The Gateway Corridor Committee

Hilton Head Island Town Council set up the US 278 Gateway Corridor Committee (Committee) "to work cooperatively with the South Carolina Department of Transportation to gather information, obtain and provide citizen input in the Environmental Assessment Process and make recommendations to Town Council regarding the US 278 Environmental Assessment and Design Alternatives".

The Committee is comprised of 15 citizens from Beaufort County including Hilton Head and Bluffton with liaison members from the town councils of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton and the Beaufort County Council.

South Carolina's Environmental Assessment Process

A formal process known as the Environmental Assessment (EA) is required for any project that will use Federal funding.

• The EA normally takes around two years.
• The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) began the US 278 EA in the fall of 2018.
• The scope of the EA covers the US 278 Corridor between Moss Creek Road and Spanish Wells Road incorporating four bridge spans, Pinckney Island, Hog and Jenkins Islands.

The SCDOT has stated that no project can go forward unless it meets the "purpose and need" of the project which they have given as follows:

1. Replace the deficient MacKay Creek Bridge Span
2. Reduce traffic congestion
3. Increase the capacity of the corridor

Timeline: From Reasonable Alternatives to a Preferred Alternative

The EA is about a year into the process and the SCDOT will announce its first set of preliminary alternatives (known in the EA process as "reasonable alternatives") for the corridor on September 19th, 2019 at a public meeting on Hilton Head Island.

• The SCDOT will take public comments to be incorporated into the formal EA document for one month after that.
• While it will still take public comments throughout its process going forward these comments are not required to be included in the formal EA document.
• During the next year the SCDOT will refine its preliminary alternatives with the goal of announcing a single Preferred Alternative in the Fall of 2020. In all likelihood the SCDOT will have decided internally on this Preferred Alternative by early spring of 2020.

What Defines Success?

After the SCDOT unveils its set of reasonable alternatives in September the Committee, in coordination with the SCDOT, will work to help citizens evaluate the different alternatives, gathering information about preferences and issues in order to work toward a recommendation to the HHI Town Council.

The Committee will consider and evaluate the alternatives presented by the SCDOT using the guiding principles presented here. Related specific evaluation criteria include such important issues as property/neighborhood displacement, retention of heritage and culture, the extent to which it shows good stewardship of the tax money raised for the project through the County's one percent transportation tax, among other issues.

An outcome that satisfies the guiding principles will greatly benefit everyone who lives, works or visits Hilton Head Island.