BEAUFORT -- After more than 16 years of working traffic accidents in Sheldon, few surprises are left for Fire Chief Buddy Jones when he responds to a crash on U.S. 17.

"Any time we have a wreck on U.S. 17, we always expect the worst," he said.

A string of accidents on the road late last month left four people dead and eight injured. The tragedies again focused attention on the dangerous highway and brought more promises that something will be done to improve it.

But that's not enough, Jones said.

"That's the last thing us out there working those accidents want to hear," he said. "They've studied it enough. They need to get the funds and fix the road."

Spotlighted on a May episode of "Dateline NBC" that studied the nation's most dangerous roads, U.S. 17 has had 11 traffic deaths in the past 18 months, far outpacing the 21 fatalities in the previous seven years.

A March 2004 Navy bus accident that killed three sailors and injured more than 70 prompted government agencies to begin putting together a plan for improvement. Before that, environmental concerns often had stymied action. But after the Navy bus accident, the state set aside nearly $8 million for initial design plans, environmental studies and permits.

Temporary improvements are under way. Transportation Commissioner John Hardee said last week that the state will install rumble strips down the median to alert drivers crossing the centerline and provide lighting strips to better illuminate the road. The department also is expected to consider lowering the speed limit -- welcome news to Jones.

"You see more injuries because of the speed of the accidents," he said.

In late July, the state Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting on the proposed widening. Plans will include widening medians, adding turning lanes and improvements at intersections, said Wilson Elgin, project manager for the state Department of Transportation.The estimated cost of $110 million to widen the road is based on a standard Transportation Department estimate that it takes $5 million to widen one mile of highway. But the unique needs of U.S. 17, including more than a mile of potential bridge or fill-in work near the Combahee River, could push costs up.

"Everyone is in favor of a task force, and everyone is in favor of immediate action, but money is what we don't have," said Rep. Thayer Rivers, D-Ridgeland.

Elgin said plans are to divide the project into at least three parts -- six miles of U.S. 17 in Beaufort County and two portions of it that run through Colleton County. Each will be widened as money becomes available, he said.

To get the work under way as quickly as possible, agencies responsible for issuing issue permits for the project have agreed to expedite them, said Wayne Hall, an environmental manager for the transportation department.

The permitting agencies get together almost every month to deal with issues that could delay permits, he said.

A time-consuming environmental impact statement is usually required for such projects, and can add four to six years to the time it takes to get permits, Hall said. But after the Navy accident, the agencies involved agreed that a less-detailed environmental assessment would be acceptable. It's expected to be completed in November.

The widening project will run through the ACE Basin, a collection of preserves and easements surrounding the Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto rivers. Because of that, officials will have to account for the impact on wetlands and wildlife in the area.

While conservation groups have been blamed in the past for slowing the process, Mike McShane, chairman of the ACE Basin Task Force, said his group has been working with the transportation department to find affordable ways to widen the road and protect the environment.

"It's selfish reasons," McShane said. "We all drive that road, too."

One proposal still under consideration calls for buffers along the widened road to prevent commercial development that tends to crop up on four-lane roads.

"It's going to require compromise from all parties," McShane said.

Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, has called for the formation of an advocacy group to campaign on every level to get the road widened. But her chief concern, echoed by most of the officials involved, is that the most recent deaths and the dozens in the past few years will fade from attention until the next tragedy.

"Unless there's an accident out there," she said, "people forget about it."