By Delayna Earley
The Island News
A major downtown Beaufort intersection that was closed for critical drainage infrastructure upgrades has reopened, restoring traffic flow through one of Beaufort’s most heavily traveled corridors.
Bay Street, through the intersection with Charles Street, reopened Monday this week following completion of a stormwater infrastructure and paving project designed to improve drainage capacity and protect downtown streets from flooding. Charles Street remains closed.
The work, led by the City of Beaufort in partnership with the South Carolina Office of Resilience, began in mid-November and continued through the holiday season.
Construction closed the intersection just as downtown merchants were preparing for peak holiday foot traffic and shopping, prompting detours through adjacent streets and changes in traffic patterns.
According to the SCOR project summary, the effort involved replacing undersized stormwater pipe and upgrading the drainage network under Charles Street and at the Bay Street junction.
The improvements aim to reduce chronic flooding during heavy rain and high-tide events that have increasingly affected downtown Beaufort in recent years.
Holiday disruption and business access
By closing the Bay and Charles intersection just before Thanksgiving, the project came at a sensitive time for downtown businesses relying on holiday shoppers and weekend visitors.
Earlier project notices published by local media noted concerns from shoppers and shop owners alike about detours that rerouted traffic off familiar routes into surrounding blocks.
While no official sales figures were released, merchants told The Island News in November and December that narrowing access at a primary gateway into downtown changed travel behavior for some customers who were unfamiliar with detour signage or who chose alternative parking routes.
City officials had noted in earlier coverage that the closure would affect the “western entrance” to the downtown grid and encouraged drivers to allow extra travel time.
Paving, weather delays and reopening
Paving of the reopened intersection was temporarily delayed in January when extended cold weather prevented nearby asphalt plants from operating.
Those weather conditions slowed the supply of fresh asphalt, leaving crews to wait until temperatures rose enough to pave the intersection..
Once conditions allowed, crews completed the final pavement and the intersection was opened to vehicles.
Bay Street functions as Beaufort’s primary commercial corridor, linking waterfront attractions, restaurants and shops to the broader street network.
Bigger picture: resilience for downtown
City officials and SCOR say the project is part of a multi-phase initiative to modernize stormwater infrastructure downtown and protect heritage street corridors from worsening flood risk.
The engineering enhancements are expected to improve stormwater capacity, reduce standing water on the roadway and extend the life of street surfaces that have historically been vulnerable to weather and tidal influence.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.