State transportation officials are expecting word this week on permits to widen the dangerous 22 mile stretch of U.S. 17 through the Lowcountry as they continue to struggle to find a majority of the financing for the $221 million project.

The state renewed plans for the widening following a March 2004 Navy bus accident that killed three sailors near Big Estate Road. Thirty-four people have died since 1997 on the two-lane stretch from Gardens Corner to Jacksonboro in Colleton County.

But the S.C. Department of Transportation had pinned most hopes for funding on a $138 million aid application with the State Infrastructure Bank, a state program that provides financing for large road projects. But the bank board voted last month to offer only a $93 million loan that department officials say they can't pay back.

Last week, Beaufort County officials gave approval to adding $5 million for the widening project to a proposed 1 cent sales tax referendum for road projects that will go before voters in November. The Beaufort County Council will give the second of three required votes on the list Monday.

U.S. 17 had been left off the county's planned referendum list in early discussions because of expectations the money could be found elsewhere. But the bank board's decision forced the Transportation Department to return to the county for help.

"Because of the safety needs on that road, that is our priority," said Colin Kinton, the county's traffic engineer.

The money would go toward advancing a $93 million first leg of the project, widening the six miles of U.S. 17 through Beaufort County that have seen the most deaths on the highway, including the Navy bus accident and a June 2005 van accident that killed four people.

But existing money for the project still leaves department officials short $19 million, not including the proposed referendum money from Beaufort County.

Project coordinator Wilson Elgin said the Transportation Department could use what money is available to break the project into smaller pieces or to pay for early needs of the full project in hopes that additional money comes later.

The department also may return to the State Infrastructure Bank board for reconsideration or with a different funding request, Elgin said.

"Ultimately, the Department of Transportation wants to do the entire project, and we still haven't given up on that yet," he said Friday.

Money already set aside for the widening includes:

$60 million the Transportation Department expects to contribute through long-term borrowing;

$10 million provided through a federal earmark in the six-year federal highway bill;

$2 million Beaufort County agreed to contribute last year;

$200,000 provided by the Lowcountry Council of Governments; and

$2 million unspent from the Transportation Department budget.