"We'll see what the public says." That was Jeff Buckalew of Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering, the firm Jasper County hired to manage its transportation sales tax program. He told the Island Packet which way he thinks US 278 should be widened between John Smith Road and the USC-Beaufort campus. Then he said the choice is still open.
The public gets a say on Monday, October 5, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Palmetto Electric Cooperative Community Room, 1 Cooperative Way in Hardeeville. The study map on the project handout lists Latitude Boulevard by name. Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head sits on Highway 278, two and a half miles east of I-95, and residents reach it from Latitude Boulevard. That puts the community's front door inside a project that won't break ground for years. The layout is being shaped now, through comments due by October 20.
Two Ways To Add Two Lanes
The proposal covers about 4.6 miles. It would take US 278 from four lanes to a six-lane divided highway, improve intersections, replace or rebuild two bridges, upgrade drainage, and change access management. That last item includes median openings and driveways. The handout doesn't say which two bridges.
Both alternatives add two 12-foot travel lanes. They differ in where those lanes go.
| Alternative 1 | Alternative 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the new lanes go | Outside the existing four lanes | Into the existing median |
| The 48-foot grass median | Kept | Narrowed, with paved inside shoulders |
| Concrete barrier | None described | At intersections and median crossovers |
| Project manager's view | Preferred, per Buckalew | Open for public comment |
Buckalew told the Island Packet that under Alternative 2, some of the corridor would keep a grassy median. Concrete barriers would go in at intersections and crossovers, where "things tighten up." For a community whose daily traffic all passes through one intersection on 278, that detail matters more than the lane count. It decides what the turn at the gate looks like once the road is finished.
The county plans to build in two phases. The first runs from the Jasper-Beaufort county line to Argent Boulevard. The second runs from Argent to John Smith Road. The last stretch west to the interstate is already being rebuilt as part of SCDOT's I-95 work.
Why October Is The Leverage Point
The timeline explains why a 2026 comment shapes a road that won't exist until the 2030s. In the Island Packet's account, right-of-way purchases start in 2029, construction starts in 2033, and the build takes about three years. The county's own project page lists an estimated start of 2030/31 and completion in 2035. The exact years are still preliminary. In both versions, though, the alignment has to be chosen before the land is bought, and the county is still asking for input on that choice.
The cost estimates don't match, and neither source explains why. The county's project page puts about 4.5 miles, from near John Smith Road to the USCB campus, at $57 million from the referendum. The Island Packet reports roughly $80 million for the same stretch of more than four miles. It also reports that the county has received an additional $12 million from the Lowcountry Council of Governments' Traffic Improvement Plan. Buckalew expects costs to rise by the time the project goes to bid. The money comes from the 1% sales tax Jasper County voters approved in 2024. It stays in place until April 2040 or until it raises $470 million.
The interstate runs on a nearer clock. SCDOT's $825 million I-95 project widens 10 miles to three lanes each way, builds 14 bridges, and reworks Exits 5 and 8. Program manager Craig Winn gave June 30, 2030 as the completion date and said the schedule could change. Exit 8, the US 278 interchange, is becoming a diverging diamond. On the current timelines, the new interchange is due to open several years before the six-lane highway it feeds.
What Actually Changes Before The Holidays
None of the widening will show up this year. Three smaller projects will, and they sit on the routes that lead out of Latitude Boulevard.
John Smith Road overpass. SCDOT closed the overpass and road between US 278 and US 17 to through traffic on March 23, 2026, so it can replace the bridge over I-95. The closure is set to last through the end of the year. Local traffic can still reach parts of John Smith Road. Drivers crossing I-95 are detoured to Exit 5 or Exit 8. The Island Packet called the road a vital hurricane evacuation route and reported that its nine-month rebuild has to finish before main-line I-95 work can move ahead. When John Smith reopens, the interstate widening can move into its next phase.
US 278 at Argent Boulevard. The signals went up in June, and SCDOT added a right-turn lane on Argent and lengthened the US 278 left-turn lane in July. Before that, a single stop sign controlled the intersection. SCDOT had said the lights would be on by the end of September. The Island Packet's September 29 report said they would come on later in the year instead. When they do, they'll start with a short flashing-yellow period. Eastbound 278 drivers will get a dedicated left-turn signal and won't have to yield to oncoming traffic, because no road enters from across the intersection.
Argent at Short Cut and Jasper Station roads. Short Cut Road and Jasper Station Road meet Argent at the same spot without lining up, and that offset kept SCDOT from installing a signal there. Hardeeville's $1.5 million project moves Short Cut Road slightly south to line it up with Jasper Station. The work was due in June 2026 but ran long because of utility relocations. Jodie McMahon, Hardeeville's Capital Improvement Program director, said paving and striping should be done by November 30 if everything proceeds as planned. The city expects the lights to be working by Christmas.
Argent Has Its Own Deadline, Four Days Earlier
Argent Boulevard has its own widening plan and its own comment window. The Island Packet describes Argent as the road drivers use to avoid McGarvey's Corner, the busy US 278 and SC 170 interchange. A 2023 traffic study counted up to 14,800 vehicles a day on it.
The county's handout describes about 3.8 miles from US 278 to SC 170. The two-lane road would become four lanes or five, with paths, intersection work, drainage, and access improvements. The Island Packet reports a 10-foot shared-use path with curbing on both sides of the road. Where driveways cluster, there would be a center turn lane. Elsewhere, a raised grass median. Its public meeting was October 1, and comments close October 16. Cost estimates vary by source. The Island Packet cites about $80 million. WTOC's October 2 report calls it a $57 million project, with construction starting around 2030 and finishing between 2033 and 2035.
So the next 16 days include two comment deadlines and one public meeting, for two corridors that meet at the same intersection on 278.
The Dates Between Now And Christmas
- Monday, October 5, 5 to 7 p.m. US 278 public information meeting, Palmetto Electric Cooperative Community Room, 1 Cooperative Way.
- Friday, October 9, 5 to 10 p.m., and Saturday, October 10, noon to 10 p.m. Festival on Main at 205 Main Street in downtown Hardeeville. Admission is free. July Turner plays Friday, and Pandora's Box: The Ultimate Aerosmith Tribute plays Saturday. Latitude Margaritaville is the 2026 title sponsor.
- Friday, October 16. Deadline for Argent Boulevard widening comments.
- Tuesday, October 20. Deadline for US 278 comments. Submit online at JasperCountySalesTaxProgram.com, by email to [email protected], or by mail to Jeff Buckalew, US 278 Input, c/o Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering, 181 Bluffton Road, Suite C-102, Bluffton, SC 29910. The comment period opened September 20.
- November 30. Target for paving and striping at Argent, Short Cut, and Jasper Station roads.
- By Christmas. Hardeeville's target for the Short Cut and Jasper Station signals to be working.
- End of the year. SCDOT's stated end of the John Smith Road overpass closure.
The project team says it will respond to written comments on request, and both the comments and responses go into the official meeting file.
Corridor changes like these shape how a property is reached, shown, and valued over the next decade. At Coastal Investment Network, we follow these projects so that owners on US 278 can plan around facts instead of rumors. If you'd like a clear view of where your home stands as Hardeeville's roads change, Request a Private Valuation.