The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has scheduled a public hearing Thursday, October 11, concerning preliminary plans for the proposed improvements along Burnt Church Road (S-163), Bluffton Road (SC 46), and Simmonsville Road (S-474) in Beaufort County.

The hearing will be between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the auditorium at Bluffton High School, 12 H.E. McCracken Circle, Bluffton.

The format is as follows: From 5 p.m. until 6 p.m., the hearing format will be informal.  Displays will be set up in the auditorium and project team members from the SCDOT will be available to discuss the project with interested citizens on an individual basis.

At 6 p.m., SCDOT will make a brief formal presentation in the auditorium on the project purpose and need, schedule, and potential natural and human impacts to the community.  Immediately following the presentation, citizens will have the option to make formal, verbal comments regarding the proposed project.   Anyone who desires to verbally comment must sign up between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. as they enter the public hearing. Each comment will be limited to two minutes and may not be transferred.  The informal portion of the public hearing will continue during this time.

            The proposed improvements consist of widening these roads from two lanes to four lanes with a raised median.  Sidewalks and bike lanes are proposed on all three roads.  Burnt Church Road and Simmonsville Road will be widened from US 278 to the Bluffton Parkway.  Bluffton Road will be widened from US 278 to the existing four lane section of Bluffton Road.  The intersections of Burnt Church Road, Bluffton Road and Simmonsville Road with US 278 will all be improved to accept dual left turns from US 278.

For more information, the public may contact Program Manager John Boylston at (803) 737-1527 in Columbia.

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