WALTERBORO--The state Department of Transportation is suggesting Colleton and Beaufort counties pay approximately $26 million, including interest, over the next two decades to help fund the U.S. 17 widening project.

Colleton County Council learned of the request for the first time while meeting Wednesday with department representatives about how the state plans to pay for the estimated $150 million project.

While the council didn't take any action, council members said they had strong reservations about raising taxes to pay for a state road that might need more improvements before the loan is paid off.

"Frankly, funding is a real question of whether we want to do this," Councilman Joe Flowers said. "People are not going to be real receptive, I tell you that."

Keith Bishop, the Transportation Department's deputy director, said the department hopes the bulk of the money, $90 million, would come from a grant through the state Infrastructure Bank, a state fund that pays for large road projects.

That $90 million, in addition to the $12 million the state will get from the federal government and Beaufort County, still would leave the state $48 million short.

Bishop proposed that the department take out a $48 million loan for about $4.3 million a year, including interest, to be paid back over 20 years.

Under the proposal, the department would put up about $3 million a year while the two counties and the Lowcountry Council of Governments would split the remaining $1.3 million a year.

The total cost for the two counties and the agency over 20 years would be about $26 million. Bishop said getting money from the State Infrastructure Bank is a competitive process, and the bank usually gives grants to communities that agree to share in the cost.

County officials said they want to see the 22-mile stretch of road widened to prevent any more deaths but that they have reservations about paying for a road that is used primarily by people from surrounding counties.

"Colleton County is a poor county, it is a rural county," Flowers said. "We don't have a lot of money lying around."

Flowers and other council members also said they have no interest in paying for the project if it includes 100-foot buffers or any other type of restrictions that would limit a property owners' access to his own land.

"I will damn sure have a lot of reservations about any buffers," Flowers said. "I will tell you this right now: I will never vote for 1 cent to be placed into that project in any shape or form if there's any inkling of buffers."

Bishop and Wilson Elgin, the department project manager, said buffers are not included in the $150 million price tag but are still a consideration at this point. They said landowners would be asked to voluntarily give up land for buffers. Bishop said that if the county agrees to help pay for the project, it can include a contingency clause in the contract that would allow the county to opt out if restrictions are included.

Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, and Rep. Wallace Scarborough, R-Charleston, have been working for more than a year to get the road widened to prevent more deaths.

They both said it is fair to ask the counties to share in the cost.

"The good old days of the federal government spending money are long gone," Scarborough said. "Colleton and Beaufort just have to catch up with the rest of the state. That's just the way it has to be, unfortunately."