Parkway would complete I-526

DOT unveils plan for low-speed 4-lane with bike access

By Diane Knich
The Post and Courier
Thursday, July 29, 2010

The completion of Interstate 526 from West Ashley to Johns Island and the James Island connector likely will be a low-speed, four-lane parkway that includes a path for bicycles and pedestrians, according to the S.C. Department of Transportation.

But transportation officials said the proposal is not final and could be modified after the agency gathers input from the public.

The Transportation Department released its preferred route Wednesday at a meeting in Charleston County Council Chambers. The proposed "parkway" extends from the end of I-526 at U.S. Highway 17 in West Ashley, across the Stono River to Johns Island and James Island, where it ties in to the James Island connector at Folly Road. The road would have speed limits between 35 and 45 mph, and most sections would have a planted median. The plan includes two 65-foot-tall bridges over the Stono River.

In 2009, the Transportation Department presented to the public six alternative routes for finishing I-526. The preferred alternative presented Wednesday is a hybrid of two of those proposals, project manager David Kinard said. "It's a lot different than anything we've proposed before," he said.

Kinard said the proposed parkway would cost about $489 million, which is lower than any of the other "reasonable" alternatives. There is $420 million from the State Infrastructure Bank available for the project, he said, and he didn't know yet where the Transportation Department would get the additional money.

The S.C. Department of Transportation's recommended preferred alternative for the completion of Interstate 526 includes:

--A four-lane parkway with a 15-foot, center median.

--Posted speed limits between 35 and 45 mph.

--A multi-use path along the entire length to accommodate bikes and pedestrians.
--Connection to James Island County Park and the West Ashley Greenway.

--Two connector roads onto Johns Island.

--The lowest cost of the seven reasonable alternatives at $489 million.

Public officials and citizen groups already were beginning to weigh in on the proposal Wednesday afternoon. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley and a consultant to the town of Kiawah Island were pleased with the plan, while the Coastal Conservation League and James Island Mayor Mary Clark came out against it.

Riley said he's "extremely happy with the wonderful solution. It's a quieter, more appropriately scaled road." Riley also said he was impressed with the bike and pedestrian path.

Paul Roberts, former chairman of the Kiawah Island Community Association and a consultant on road issues to the town of Kiawah Island, said "it's wonderful to see this thing is still alive."

Roberts said the proposal represents "a compromise that might be embraced by a larger number of people."

For people who live on Kiawah and Seabrook islands and parts of Johns Island, it means shorter trips to West Ashley and downtown Charleston, he said.

But not everybody was happy with the proposal.

Josh Martin, the Coastal Conservation League's program director for land use, said his group is opposed to building a new road, and instead would favor making improvements to existing roads to relieve traffic congestion.

He also said he doubted the proposed road would alleviate traffic problems and that drivers would actually drive 35 to 45 mph on "a four-lane highway."

Martin also questioned why the Transportation Department was holding public hearings on Aug. 31 and Sept. 2 at Burke High School on the Charleston peninsula. Most people who would be affected by the new road live in West Ashley or on James and Johns islands, he said.

Kinard said the Transportation Department hopes to have a final plan by the spring of 2011.

Clark, who with Town Council has voted twice to oppose I-526 coming to the island, said the plan to bring the route in as a parkway is a thinly veiled Transportation Department effort to get its project through. "Whether you call it a parkway, an avenue or a boulevard," she said, "it's still intruding across James Island and bringing traffic here."

Ron Barber is a retired teacher who lives in West Ashley near the starting point of the proposed extension. He said he wasn't surprised by the proposal but still opposes the plan.

"I have a Florida room, and I don't like the idea of people driving by and waving at them."

Edward C. Fennell and Melvin Backman contributed to this report. Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.