Who’s responsible for busy Hilton Head roads? Town to repair formerly private one

Mary Dimitrov
·3 min read

The Town of Hilton Head will repair the previously-private dilapidated streets near Hilton Head Plantation that drivers use to get to Hilton Head Hospital, the island’s public schools and shops in the Main Street Village such as Harris Teeter and Burke’s Pharmacy.

Main Street, which runs parallel to U.S. 278 on the north end of the island, was built in the mid-to-late 1980s and privately owned until this month, meaning the Main Street Commercial Property Owners Association was responsible for its upkeep. As Hilton Head became busier and the streets more heavily trafficked, the private POA couldn’t afford its upkeep and it became cracked, filled with potholes and raised from tree roots. Chunks of the curbs are falling off.

“It’s like a booby trap,” Hilton Head Island resident Anna Memmo said.

Now, two years after the island’s Town Council voted to take over the street, officials have tracked down the POA’s 42 owners and finalized the transfer of ownership. On Friday, engineers began marking potholes, bulging spots of concrete, curbs and gutters that need to be repaired. Construction is predicted to start in January and take around two months, weather permitting, according to Director of Public Project and Facilities Bryan McIlwee. He said the roads will remain open with traffic controllers once construction starts.

The Town also now owns and will maintain the side streets: Central Avenue, Museum Street, Merchant Street and Meeting Street in addition to the segment running from Hospital Center Boulevard to the Whooping Crane Way Circle that it already owned.

Town of Hilton Head Island transportation department employees Theresa McVey, left, and James Iwanicki finish measuring and highlighting a portion of Central Avenue that needs to be repaired on Hilton Head Island. The town recently accepted ownership of several roads that were once the responsibility of Commercial Property Owners’ Association of Main Street.

The acquisition raises the question of when or if private roads should become publicly owned and if it’s worth using public tax dollars to maintain them. Town Council members agreed that in this case the road serves a public use and should be public, not private. The immediate repairs to Main Street and the side streets will cost around $125,000, according to McIlwee. Long-term improvements that could start as soon as this time next year potentially include sidewalks and lighting, and could cost anywhere from $2.5 million to $3 million. McIlwee said under five percent of Hilton Head Island’s streets are Town owned. Then, if they’re not privately owned they’re state or county owned.

“As we look around the island, there are a lot of roads, in my opinion, that perhaps Hilton Head should look at having ownership over, whether it’s for stormwater or maintenance,” Town Council member Tamara Becker said.

A portion of Main Street highlighted with paint that will be repaired by the Town of Hilton Head Island. The town recently accepted ownership of several roads that were once the responsibility of Commercial Property Owners’ Association of Main Street.
A portion of Main Street highlighted with paint that will be repaired by the Town of Hilton Head Island. The town recently accepted ownership of several roads that were once the responsibility of Commercial Property Owners’ Association of Main Street.

For Town Council member Steve Alfred, it’s a matter of who primarily uses the road.

“Main Street, for example, was a private road, but it was used by the public primarily,” he said. “Local governments historically and state governments and county governments have generally been the ones providing roads.”

Aside from The Dirt Road Repaving Program, Assistant Town Manager Shawn Colin said the Town hasn’t acquired any other streets for public maintenance recently. With the dirt road program, the Town will pave and maintain a road contingent upon its right-of-way donation to the Town. These include roads such as Pine Field Road, Mitchelville Road, Freddie’s Way, Alice Perry Drive, Horse Sugar Lane and Alfred Lane.

The Town of Hilton Head Island now owns and will maintain for Main Street, from Hospital Center Boulevard to Wilborn Road.
The Town of Hilton Head Island now owns and will maintain for Main Street, from Hospital Center Boulevard to Wilborn Road.

To many, it came as a surprise that the Town didn’t already own Main Street.

“I think it should be publicly maintained for sure,” Burke’s Pharmacy manager Chris Kezian said. He drives his truck on Main Street to get to work and so does his wife, who works at the hospital. “(The potholes) aren’t so bad where I’m fearful, but you’re dodging them.”