Storm-delayed Boundary Street lane shift to start Monday Oct. 17, caution urged

18 Oct Storm-delayed Boundary Street lane shift to start Monday Oct. 17, caution urged

Storm-delayed Boundary Street lane shift to start Monday Oct. 17, caution urged

Twice-delayed by storms, the Boundary Street lane shift in Beaufort is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 17 through Wednesday, Oct. 19. Four lanes will remain open, but motorists are urged to use extra caution during the change in traffic patterns.

Crews will begin the process of shifting traffic lanes to the southern side of Boundary Street heading into downtown Beaufort. The shift will create additional work area for crews to continue the process of building an underground duct bank to carry power and communications cabling that currently hangs from poles.

Hurricane Matthew caused the longest delay, about two weeks, but heavy thunderstorms in late September also put the lane shift on pause.

The duct bank on the southern side of Boundary Street is complete and cables are being installed in the underground conduit.

The full lane shift had been scheduled for the week of Oct. 3, but the arrival of Hurricane Matthew stopped that work and required removal of the orange-and-white safety barrels from the one-mile section of roadwork.

“When the hurricane approached, our contractor moved his equipment to safety and we did our best to secure the Boundary Street construction zone,” said Sammy Negron, project manager consultant.

“At this point in the hurricane recovery work, we are ready to make the traffic pattern change and get this project back on schedule,” he said. Most of the paving already has been done to accommodate the lane shifts, so it’s mainly a matter of re-striping the roadway and moving safety barrels.

Drivers are urged to use extra caution during this week’s changes to the traffic pattern. The lane shifts will include the area between Neil Road and Greenlawn Drive.

Left turns will continue to be restricted to controlled intersections along the mile-long section of the Boundary Street Improvement Project.

The work started in January. In early August, the new intersection of Boundary and Robert Smalls Parkway opened, though work continues in that area. A new road, First Street, is also under construction beside Chick fil-A.

When completed, Boundary Street will remain a four-lane roadway but will feature improved intersections with traffic signals; left-turn lanes; and landscaped middle median; and wider sidewalks and pathways for pedestrians.

This is part of the “complete streets” effort to enable safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities. The project is scheduled for completion in 2018.