The Beaufort Gazette: U.S. 17 widening contract dies from lack of funds

Federal funds earmarked for widening a stretch of U.S. 17 in Beaufort and Colleton counties will pay for securing the project's right of way, state transportation officials decided Tuesday, said Pete Poore, a spokesman for the S.C. Department of Transportation. That cost has yet to be computed.

The DOT Commission also voted to abandon a contract offer to widen the highway due to limited money. The project was estimated to cost $256 million, but state, county and municipal officials do not expect to secure enough money for it before a contractor's offer to complete the project expires at year's end. Officials have identified the 22 miles of U.S. 17 from Gardens Corner in northern Beaufort County to Jacksonboro in Colleton County -- where at least 35 deaths have occurred since 1997 -- as dangerous. The road's fatality rate in both Beaufort and Colleton counties was more than three times that of neighboring Charleston County from 2000 to 2004.

There have been several measures taken to improve the road's safety. In July 2005, DOT officials

lowered the speed limit from 55 mph to 50 mph,

eliminated passing zones for the six-mile stretch of the highway in Beaufort County,

doubled the number of road reflectors, and

installed rumble strips.

Additionally, Gov. Mark Sanford said he would increase the S.C. Highway Patrol's enforcement on the road.

The DOT Commission also voted to pay for design work at Gardens Corner, Poore said.

"It plots out what the road would look like once it's widened," Poore said. "It would be the blueprint for the widening."

DOT officials did not return calls by press time regarding the amount of money available for the project, though $74 million was available in July, and Beaufort County voters earmarked an additional $5 million for the project when they passed the roads referendum in November.

The referendum will raise the base county sales tax from 5 percent to 6 percent in May. An unrelated statewide increase in sales tax will take effect in June, meaning county residents and visitors will pay 7 percent in base sales tax.

In September state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, D-Ridgeland, said he would coordinate lobbying efforts for the project in the upcoming session of the state General Assembly. Pinckney could not be reached for comment.

The stretch's most recent fatal crash occurred Nov. 17, when a van and tractor-trailer collided. The accident killed one man and hospitalized five. The state renewed widening plans following a March 2004 Navy bus accident that killed three sailors near Big Estate Road.