Residents worry Town Council is backtracking James Island -- Opponents of Interstate 526 on James and Johns islands filled Town Hall on Tuesday night because they worried that council was backtracking on its stated opposition to the project. What sounded the alarm was a new resolution before Town Council on the $489 million project that said nothing about opposing it. Council received comment on the issue for two hours from opponents of the resolution and a few supporters. In the end, council rejected the measure 3-1. Council members Leonard Blank, Robin Welch and Karen Wilder-Smalls voted against the resolution. Carter McMillan voted for it. In two previously approved resolutions, council opposed completion of I-526 over James and Johns islands. The new resolution did not directly express support for I-526 but included language that worried opponents of the controversial interstate project. "The Town retains its right to review and then approve or reject any alternative that crosses the Town limits," the resolution stated. It made no mention of the previous council votes opposing I-526. Before the vote, Blank said he was not clear what the resolution meant. "I think this is totally ridiculous. I don't even know why this motion is being brought to the floor," Blank said. Wilder-Smalls said she, too, did not understand the purpose of the resolution. Mayor Bill Woolsey reviewed the new resolution, and said it was necessary. "No past resolution can short-circuit this process," he said. He noted that the town has more than 20,000 voters, but only a fraction of them have expressed an opinion on the issue. McMillan talked about going door-to-door to gauge public sentiment. He said that he received three "ugly, nasty" phone calls urging him to be careful for the next few days. The Nix 526 website, which opposes building the interstate, expressed concern that the resolution, if approved, would mean council will change its position on the project. Many speakers Tuesday expressed the same concern. "All of a sudden the smoke and mirrors start," said Richard Kerr of Johns Island. The S.C. Department of Transportation held public hearings on the project last fall. Most of the speakers then opposed it. "Someone quite powerful does not like the verdict. Let it end," said Garrett Milliken of James Island. Opponents have contended that a silent majority supports I-526 but a vocal minority has manipulated the public hearing process. Supporter Brian Whitley said I-526 needed to be completed because of development and traffic. "You need to put in the infrastructure to deal with it," he said. Completion of the expressway would mean a four-lane, seven-mile road across the islands from Savannah Highway to Folly Road. Charleston County Council recently chose the "no-build" option but later rescinded that vote after the S.C. Transportation Infrastructure Bank board voted that the county was in default on the $11.6 million it has spent on the project. The bank has pledged $420 million for completion of I-526 across both islands. County Council has not yet decided how or whether to proceed with the project.

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