Coastal Conservation League, city of Charleston proposals left off of Transportation Department list
A short list of options for extending Interstate 526 from West Ashley to the James Island Connector will be laid out at a series of public meetings starting Thursday, but alternatives proposed by the city of Charleston and the Coastal Conservation League are not on the list.
Mark Clark 526 alternatives
The draft study showing alternatives for 526 (22 page PDF)
For more info, go to the SC DOT
The six "reasonable alternatives" for the route of the Mark Clark Expressway extension that will be provided by the state Department of Transportation were chosen from among more than three dozen options. The controversial project has been planned since the 1970s, and the state now hopes to reach a decision by the fall of 2010.
Each of the alternatives that will be outlined at the public meetings would extend the highway, which now ends at Savannah Highway in West Ashley, to Johns Island and then to the James Island Connector, which now terminates at Folly Road on James Island.
The six plans each take the proposed highway across Johns and James islands along different routes, with interchanges in different locations; and one option calls for the road to become more like a parkway than a highway on James Island.
The Post and Courier (click here for larger version)
That last option seems to play off of the city of Charleston's proposal that the road be designed as a series of ground-level roads with low speed limits connected by bridges, similar to the current Maybank Highway.
However, the option on SCDOT's list would have a parkway-style road only on James Island.
"We're disappointed that the alternative plan we submitted was not included, and we look forward to sitting down with DOT representatives and going over our plan with them, and the proposed alternatives," said Charleston Mayor Joe Riley. "I do think we all have to work very hard to make sure that what is done is respectful to the land and the neighborhoods and the environment."
"I do believe that the I-526 extension is necessary, and important for many reasons, to improve capacity for motorists to safely and conveniently traverse our community," Riley said. "Also, for safer evacuation, and to relieve congestion on our highways."
The mayor said he believes zoning and land-use regulations will protect Johns Island from some of the negative impacts associated with highways.
Opponents of the highway extension, including the town of James Island and the Coastal Conservation League, disagree. The James Island Town Council voted unanimously this month to oppose any path the road might take through the town.
The League had proposed that instead of extending the highway, the state should improve existing roads in key locations, and in some cases create new connecting streets.
Previous stories
Charleston offers new plan for I-526, published 1/27/09
Proposal rules out extended highway on I-526, published 1/26/09
Dana Beach, director of the organization, said the state's decision against including the League's proposal as a "reasonable alternative" is a serious deficiency in the plan. "We will argue that it's a legal deficiency," he said.
Megan Desrosiers, also with the League, said the state used an evaluation criteria that was unsuited for considering plans that were innovative alternatives to a highway.
"We probably will challenge the alternatives they selected, legally, and we are preparing for that," she said.
Attempts to reach the SCDOT's project manager for comment Thursday and Friday were unsuccessful.
