State Highway Commissioners took major steps Thursday toward a project that has been talked about for more than a decade but repeatedly sidelined for financial reasons -- widening a deadly stretch of U.S. Highway 17.

They OK'd the details of the project's design, which won't include the sought-after buffers, as well as pursuing State Infrastructure Bank funds. It's now up to the Infrastructure Bank board to decide whether making U.S. 17 between Jacksonboro in Colleton County and Gardens Corner in Beaufort County four lanes deserves a $90 million grant.

If the state Transportation Department is given the money, the bulk of the project, which is expected to cost up to $200 million, would be paid for. The Infrastructure Bank also is being asked for a $48 million loan.

Legislators and transportation officials close to the project expressed confidence that bank board members, who meet periodically to fund state road projects, will assist in financing the project. The commissioners plan to ask the board to meet soon to hear their request.

"I feel very confident about it because the commissioners have recognized it as a priority," said state Rep. Catherine Ceips. "This highway project has support from Beaufort, to Charleston to the commissioners. It is all about safety, and this is one of the most dangerous roads in South Carolina."

Nearly 900 crashes have occurred on the stretch of highway between 1997 and 2003, resulting in more than 20 deaths.

Efforts first began to widen the two-lane highway in the early 1990s, but the Transportation Department was unable to come up with the money to fund the project.

Instead, six miles of passing lanes were built. Residents again started to ask for a wider highway after a high-profile accident last year claimed the lives of three sailors and injured another 71.

"It's been a long process," said state Rep. Wallace Scarborough. "It looks like we're finally coming to the end of the road."

The end may be in sight, but Colleton County officials are not on board.

County Chairman Steve Murdaugh said that the council does not support contributing any money toward the highway project. If the Infrastructure Bank did award the state a $48 million loan, it would cost Colleton County roughly $26 million, the cost of its portion of the loan plus interest, over the next 20 years.

"It needs to be done for the safety of the people, but I don't think we need to tax our people $20 million over 20 years when I thought the money was there to start with," said Colleton County Councilman Gene Whetsell.

Also Thursday, commissioners approved the project's design. Plans won't include the incorporation of 100-foot buffers, or areas with restricted development, on either side of the highway. Their decision puts an end to a heated debate that has dominated discussions about the project in recent months.

Some large landowners, environmentalists and members of the ACE Basin Task Force had expressed support for the buffers, namely because the highway runs through the environmentally sensitive ACE Basin. But landowners in Colleton County opposed them, saying they would limit development in the growing county and restrict landowners' rights.

Commissioner Bob Harrell said the buffers had never been "100 percent identified," so there were no cost estimates. But he estimated the buffers would have added an additional $16 million to $30 million to the cost of the project.

"If they don't even know the cost (of purchasing the buffers), then they are just opposing them on principle," said Dana Beach, executive director of the Coastal Conservation League. "That's what I find so puzzling. Of all the highway projects I've been involved with, the consensus all along on this one was to keep the highway as scenic and as beautiful as possible."

In reference to Reps. Scarborough and Ceips not favoring the buffers, Beach said that "for a few legislators to come along and derail the attempt is incomprehensible."

David and Dana Gasque, whose son was killed in a two-car crash on the highway, have been intimately involved with the process. They have attended meetings and made it their mission to improve the road's safety. Each time someone else dies, it reinforces the reason to move ahead with the project, David Gasque said.

"This road kind of keeps reminding us," Gasque said. "I think the project's going in the right direction. I really do."

ROAD WORK

The U.S. Highway 17 widening project is expected to cost between $152 million and $200 million. So far, only $12 million in funds have been committed:

On the 2006 congressional earmark list

From Beaufort County Council

In addition to these funds, the highway commissioners will seek:

Grant from the State Infrastructure Bank

Loan from the State Infrastructure Bank

The S.C. Transportation Department would repay $3 million per year on the loan for the next 20 years. Beaufort and Colleton counties and the Lowcountry Council of Governments would jointly repay $1.3 million annually.

DOWN THE ROAD

Interim safety measure:

Rumble strips are being installed on the highway's edge lines and along the center line in "no passing" areas.

What's next:

-- Environmental assessment submitted to Federal Highway Administration. Public hearings will occur and be completed within 45 days.

-- Immediately: Highway Commissioners will ask members of the State Infrastructure Bank to hold a special meeting to hear their request for money.

-- Nov. 23: Transportation Department will issue a request for proposals to qualified bidders. Federal Highway Administration should be able to provide a "Finding of No Significant Impact" on the environmental assessment.

-- Feb. 1, 2006: If money is obtained, a contractor found and permits awarded, construction could begin.

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