By Delayna Earley
The Island News
The speed bump problem in the Town of Port Royal has been resolved.
As of last week, all the speed bumps that were recently installed several inches too high have been corrected.
In hopes of preventing drivers from traveling too fast through areas in Port Royal that are frequented by pedestrians, the town had a contractor install 28 asphalt speed bumps on several streets throughout the area.
The streets that are maintained by S.C. Department of Transportation have specific measurements that must be adhered to, but the speed bumps that were installed on streets maintained by the town were supposed to be 4 inches tall.
Much to the surprise of many motorists, several of the speed humps installed on Port Royal managed roads were too tall, measuring 8 inches – 4 inches higher than what they were supposed to be, according to Assistant Town Manager Brooke Plank-Buccola.
“The contractor was very responsive when we told him that the speed bumps were too tall,” Plank-Buccola said.”
The contractor, Blythe Construction, and the subcontractor Atlantic Asphalt are covering the expense to replace the incorrectly installed speed humps.
Council members and community members alike complained about the too-tall speed bumps, some even reporting to the town that their vehicles sustained damaged as they traveled over them.
Reports of damage will be reviewed on an individual basis by Blythe Construction and the town.
Plank-Buccola said that the town is grateful for the calls and complaints made to town staff about the incorrectly installed speed bumps, as they have a small staff, and feedback from the community was so important to them realizing there was a problem.
Town Manager Van Willis said during the regular town council meeting on June 11 that the with the corrected speed bumps, even if you hit them while speeding, “you will have a slight Dukes of Hazzard moment,” but you should be OK.
Port Royal Mayor Kevin Phillips said that adding the speed bumps is something that they have talked about adding for a long time, especially at the rate that Port Royal is growing and attracting tourism.
“We are still a residential area,” Phillips said. “We still have a lot of families. … We’re just trying to keep everybody safe and be proactive in that thought. You never know what tragedies you prevent, you only know when a tragedy happens, and I hope that we never have to endure any kind of tragedy with speeding in vehicles because we know if a vehicle hits a person, a scooter, a golf cart, a bicycle, the vehicle’s going to win.”
Plank-Buccola said that installing the speed bumps is the last step in repaving the roads and the town hopes that the project will be complete by the end of the week.
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.
