<strong>From staff reports</strong>

The South Carolina Department of Transportation has awarded a $600,000 grant to the City of Beaufort for its Allison Road Pedestrian Connector Project.

City Manager Bill Prokop announced the news at City Council’s May 19 Work Session.

The pedestrian and streetscape project will connect Ribaut Road, the Beaufort Memorial Hospital campus, and nearby neighborhoods with the Spanish Moss Trail.

“In its current condition, Allison Road does not have any pedestrian facilities and poses a hazard to pedestrian movement. Overhead utilities mark the streetscape,” City Director of Public Projects and Facilities Matt St. Clair said in a release. “The Allison Road Connector Project will provide a safe, convenient and attractive connection for pedestrians.”

Just as significantly, the project will provide improved drainage for 18 acres in the Mossy Oaks neighborhood, supplementing the City of Beaufort’s major Mossy Oaks drainage infrastructure project.

This project includes building an eight-foot sidewalk on the south side of Allison Road; moving utilities underground; and repaving; as well as the stormwater improvements.

The project’s estimated cost is $1.4 million. Of that, $1 million is coming from SCDOT, which awarded the City a $400,000 grant in 2015 in addition to the $600,000 award just announced. The balance is coming primarily from city matching funds.

The project is expected to begin later this year.