Boundary Street property owners, public invited to Beaufort briefings on upcoming road project

With road construction expected to start soon, Beaufort city leaders will hold open meetings later this month to share information and expectations with the affected property owners and public.

“Even though this is a relatively short stretch of roadway that we are improving, it’s a key gateway to Beaufort and is an important commercial corridor,” said Jon Verity, chairman of the Beaufort Redevelopment Commission.

“We want to share what we know about the project and keep our communication open with property owners and people who will be traveling the road on a regular basis during construction,” he said.

The hour-long session will cover the same content at each meeting, but for the convenience of business owners and the public the meetings will be held on different days and different times:

• Monday, Oct. 27, noon in City Council Chambers

• Tuesday, Oct. 28, 8 a.m. in City Council Chambers

• Wednesday, Oct. 29, 5:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers

• Thursday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m. in City Council Chambers.

“We certainly hope anyone with an interest can make it to one of these meetings,” Verity said. “We spread them out across the week and at different times because we know not everyone can make an early morning meeting or an evening meeting.”

While the sessions primarily are designed to inform property owners along the 1.5-mile section to be improved, the public is welcome to attend. The City Council Chambers are located in City Hall at 1911 Boundary Street.

The $30 million Boundary Street construction project is expected to go out for bids in November and Rob McFee, director of engineering and infrastructure for Beaufort County, said the county hopes to award contracts by early December. Dirt could start moving early next year, he said.

The meetings will include an overview of the Boundary Street Redevelopment District, the goals of the construction and how the City plans to keep the community informed during construction. Verity and McFee will lead the discussions.

Building a better Beaufort is the goal of a $30 million investment in Boundary Street to create a safer and more scenic entry to the city, provide better commercial and retail locations, and improve traffic conditions.

The project includes:

• Realigning the intersection of SC 170 and Boundary Street

• Retrofitting, re-investing and redeveloping neglected areas of the corridor

• Creating commercial/retail nodes

• Providing alternate ways for people to reach commercial/retail including bike and walking paths.

The entire project, approximately 1.5 miles including side road improvements, is expected to be substantially complete by November 2016.

The Boundary Street Redevelopment Corridor project budget is funded through three sources: A Federal Highway Administration grant of $12.635 million, the Beaufort County one cent sales tax for road improvements of $7.819 million and the City of Beaufort’s TIF II estimated contribution of about $6.443 million.