The 4.5 miles of SC 170 between US 278 and SC 462 appear on the road-tax project lists of two counties. Jasper County voters approved their list in November 2024 and have been paying for it at the register since May 2025. Beaufort County voters turned theirs down that same night. On November 3, 2026, they vote again on a new list that includes the same stretch of Okatie Highway.

For anyone weighing a home along the Okatie corridor, the result is that no single vote settles the future of this road. It depends on how two county programs with different budgets, different histories and different timelines line up over the next decade.

Same Road, Same Endpoints, Two Price Tags

Jasper County's July 2024 ordinance packet describes the SC 170 project as a widening from US 278 to SC 462. The existing four-lane divided highway would become six lanes with access management standards over roughly 4.5 miles, at an estimated $70,000,000. That packet is a draft with redline formatting, so treat its figures as the estimates written into the ordinance, not as current engineering costs.

Beaufort County's 2026 referendum lists the same endpoints. It allocates $103,840,000 to widen SC 170 from US 278 to SC 462 from four to six lanes. The plan adds a series of signalized reduced-conflict intersections with intermittent U-turn lanes and a shared-use path on the western side of the road.

Around that core, the two lists overlap or touch the same corridor in several places:

Jasper's ordinance also ties its Argent Boulevard widening to "the SC 170 Widening and Access Management project," so the county planned these roads as one network. Both SC 170 descriptions trace back to the same planning work. Jasper's text says its project "is derived from" the Lowcountry Council of Governments' SC 170 Corridor Access Management Study. Back in 2020, LATS meeting minutes recorded a subcommittee of Jasper County, Beaufort County and Bluffton representatives formalizing a memorandum of understanding to carry out that study's recommendations.

Why the Two Counties Are on Different Clocks

The split goes back to election night on November 5, 2024. Jasper County voters approved a 1% transportation sales tax with nearly 55% voting yes, according to The Post and Courier. Across the county line, the Island Packet reported that Beaufort County's proposal failed, 52,515 no to 41,972 yes.

Beaufort's 2024 version asked for up to $950 million over ten years. It folded the Okatie work into a $120 million "Triangle" package covering SC 170, US 278 and Argent Boulevard "in collaboration with Jasper County." The 2026 list breaks that package into separate line items with their own dollar figures, which is why the interchange, the SC 462 realignment and the Sun City signal each appear on their own.

Jasper's program is designed to raise an estimated $470 million. Of that, $376 million goes to roads and $94 million to greenbelt initiatives, and collection can run until April 30, 2040 at the latest. Jasper's first quarterly deposit, covering May and June 2025, came to $830,023.91.

The Okatie Checkout Line Already Shows the Split

You can see the county line at the register. The South Carolina Department of Revenue's rate table lists Jasper County's combined sales tax at 9% for May 1, 2026 and after, up from 8% before May 2025. Beaufort County sits at 6%. SCDOR lists Jasper's 1% transportation tax as effective May 1, 2025.

If Beaufort's question passes, the county says its rate would go from the state base of 6% to 7%. According to WTOC, collection would begin May 1, 2027 and end on or before April 30, 2036. Rent and mortgage payments, gas, utilities, unprepared groceries and prescriptions are exempt. Bryan Bauer, the county's director of engineering, explained it to the Island Packet with a Walmart example. The T-shirt you buy would carry the 1% tax, "but not the lettuce."

What Jasper's Head Start Has Produced So Far

About 17 months of collections have not yet moved the nearby corridor projects we reviewed into construction. Jasper's furthest-along corridor project nearby is Argent Boulevard. The county's sales tax program site lists it in "Planning," with field surveys, traffic counts and environmental work underway and preliminary engineering and NEPA review scheduled across 2026 to 2028. The estimate has risen from the $57 million in the ordinance to $80 million. At an October 1 public meeting, covered by WTOC, officials put the start of construction around 2030 and completion between 2033 and 2035. Jim Iwanicki, interim Jasper County administrator and engineering services director, told the station: "It is a done deal that we will be improving Argent Boulevard. It isn't a done deal on how we are going to do it."

Farther along US 278, the program site lists the segment from John Smith Road to USCB in "Planning" at an estimated $80 million, with a preliminary construction window of 2031 to 2035. We could not find a comparable posted status for Jasper's SC 170 line item.

Those dates show how long large road projects take in this region, even with funding in hand. Argent shows the Jasper side of that pace. On the Beaufort side, county officials told the Island Packet that most projects from the 2018 penny program would be finished by 2028. The exceptions are the US 278 bridge project to Hilton Head and two projects on hold because of resident concerns.

The Second Ballot Question Controls the Pace

Beaufort voters will see two questions. The first approves the 1% tax, for up to nine years or until $780 million is collected, whichever comes first. The second authorizes up to $450 million in general obligation bonds, repaid from that same sales tax. The county says the bond amount is not an additional tax and does not raise the total collected.

Here is how the possible outcomes play out, based on county statements reported by the Island Packet and WTOC:

1. Tax and bonds both pass. The county can borrow against future collections and start design and construction sooner.
2. Tax passes, bonds fail. The county says it would still go ahead, but projects would wait for revenue to build up. Assistant County Administrator Jared Fralix estimated that revenue at about $75 million a year, or $15 million to $18 million a quarter.
3. Tax fails. No bonds are issued, Bauer said. The Beaufort side of the SC 170 widening, the diverging diamond and the SC 462 realignment would have no source of funding from this program.

Under the second outcome, the $103.84 million SC 170 widening alone would take more than a year of collections at that rate, and it shares the money with 80-plus other projects countywide. None of the materials we reviewed give a construction start date for any of the Okatie projects.

What Supporters and Skeptics Are Saying

Local coverage reports a mixed reaction. According to the Island Packet, supporters point to worsening traffic and safety, while critics question the county's oversight and the delays on earlier projects. The paper reports that this is the eighth transportation tax question since 1996. Four of the previous seven failed, and proposals passed in 1998, 2006 and 2018. The Beaufort Tea Party has come out against the referendum.

At the October 8 public hearing, WTOC reported that residents agreed the traffic problems are real but questioned whether the county can deliver the projects. Speakers also pointed to unfinished 2018 work and asked why some dangerous intersections were left off the list. Fralix told the station the county focused on "projects that we think we can actually complete in the timeline" and added a citizen-led oversight committee. That committee would include one representative from each municipality in the county and three from County Council. County Council members cannot advocate for the referendum's passage, the Island Packet notes, so staff have been explaining the plan at public meetings across the county.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Jasper County residents in Okatie vote on the Beaufort referendum? The questions go to qualified voters in Beaufort County. Jasper County already has its own transportation program, approved in 2024.

When does early voting start? The Island Packet reports that early voting begins October 19, ahead of Election Day on November 3.

Where can I see the full Beaufort project list and map? The county posts the ordinance, project tables and an interactive map at BeaufortCountyPenny.com. Jasper's project pages and comment forms are at JasperCountySalesTaxProgram.com.

Would the diverging diamond change the SC 170 and US 278 interchange itself? As described, it would be built below the existing US 278. It adds dual left turns from SC 170 onto eastbound US 278 and dual left and right turns from the westbound off-ramp onto SC 170. A slip lane would continue into the right-turn lane at Commerce Place.

If you're comparing homes along SC 170 or US 278, it helps to know which county's road plan covers a given address and where its projects stand. Lorie Sauer can go through the corridor with you, community by community, and show you how each county's project list and posted timeline lines up with the homes on your shortlist. Schedule a Showing and we'll start with the addresses you're considering.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.