The Beaufort Gazette: Rare chance exists to fix deadly road

Regional leaders should strike while the iron is hot if they truly want to get a death trap removed from the Lowcountry. The offer now on the table to finally widen a deadly 22-mile stretch of U.S. 17 is a good deal for Beaufort and Colleton counties. It pools local and state dollars to pay for a $150 million project that is almost ready to go to contract.

Local leaders heard a proposal this week that shows:

The State Infrastructure Bank granting $90 million;

The S.C. Department of Transportation paying $3 million a year for 20 years to retire bonds; and

Local governments paying $1.3 million for 20 years to retire bonds.

Add the money already in hand from various sources, and a construction contract could be approved by February, local leaders were told.

The $1.3 million would collectively come from Beaufort and Colleton county councils, along with the Lowcountry Council of Governments, which represents Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties. A local contribution of $26 million to get a $150 million asset to this region is a good deal.

Some will say that it is a state and/or federal responsibility to fully fund widening a stretch of highway where 33 people have died since 1997, including 12 so far this year. But the truth is that local governments are chipping in to get things done, here and across the state. The S.C. 170 widening in Beaufort County is an example, as are new roads around the congested Myrtle Beach area. So, the real question is not who pays what, but this: Do you want the road fixed?

Beaufort County Council Chairman Weston Newton raised good points in this week's discussion. He said the State Ports Authority should be asked to contribute because trucks servicing the ports in Charleston contribute heavily to the need to widen U.S. 17. He's right. The Ports Authority contributed heavily to the new Arthur Ravenel Bridge in Charleston for the same reason: The needs of the ports were a key factor in the need for the highway project. A related suggestion that has been aired is to route trucks servicing the ports away from U.S. 17 as they link to Interstate 95. If the truckers will do that, perhaps the Ports Authority can beg out. If not, the Ports Authority should help.

Newton also said the county has nowhere to turn for the cash, suggesting it may be a part of a capital projects sales tax referendum that could go to voters in November 2006. Perhaps it could still be there if action is taken today.

But we'd like to see this nagging problem checked off the community's to-do list now. We say the iron is hot because the public is outraged at the continual deadly nature of the road, the highway department has plans in place, the permitting agencies have fast-tracked the project, elected leaders are trying to address the problem and the State Infrastructure Bank will not always have $90 million to contribute.

It's been talked about for many years. This is a rare chance to see results.