Saving the Trees on Bohicket Road

The surest way to hold up any construction project is to suggest some big, grand old oak trees will be lost to make way for the new road or bridge. The state Department of Transportation is no stranger to this problem. They fight it all the time.   The latest battle to "save the trees" has been brewing for the past several months on Johns Island.   It encompasses a disagreement, mainly between Johns Island council members and state transportation officials, over which way to redirect the curve of an intersection improvement project at Bohicket and Plowground roads.   The improvements have been included in a nearby bridge replacement project, also on Bohicket Road. The bridge project will replace the Bohicket Creek and Hoopstick Creek bridges.   Naturally, the projects spark some disagreement because the state has to maneuver the construction between delicate wetlands and moss-covered oak trees that hug the roadway.   Everyone agrees the bridges need to be replaced.   A weight limit would be placed on the Bohicket Creek Bridge in six months if it was left in its current condition.   Everyone agrees the intersection of Bohicket and Plowground needs to be improved. Poor visibility and modest traffic flow -- roughly 13,000 cars daily pass by the intersection -- have made the intersection too dangerous.   The state plans to add left turn lanes to the intersection as part of its improvement project.   Disagreement has arisen, however, over what to do to improve safety at the sharp curve just past the intersection. The state wants to remove a large portion of the curve.   In the process, the section of road would become straighter, but several large oak trees would be lost.   Some Johns Island residents say this is not acceptable. They say if Bohicket Road were made wider on its left-hand side (assuming drivers are coming from Charleston toward Kiawah) more grand oak trees could be saved, 14 rather than five, and the curve wouldn't have such a 'freeway' feel. A tree is classified as 'grand' when its diameter is greater than 24 inches.   How the curve is reshaped rests largely on how the state DOT decides to replace the bridges. Here are the options the DOT is considering in order to replace the bridges and fix the curve:   1. Close both bridges simultaneously and detour traffic onto River Road. This would create a 12-mile detour. Trees removed: two grand trees and four non-grand trees.   2. Close the Bohicket Bridge and detour traffic around the Hoopstick Creek Bridge. This would create an eight mile detour. Trees removed: nine grand trees and 30 non-grand trees.   3. Never completely block off traffic. Instead, build temporary bridges either to the right, or the left of the existing bridges. If transportation officials built to the right of the existing bridges, five grand trees and 45 non-grand trees would be removed.   If transportation officials built to the left of the existing bridges, 14 grand trees and 45 non-grand trees would be removed.   Kati Holland, the project manager with the state DOT, said building to the right is the best they can do to maintain the trees. Plus, it would allow the project to be completed in a year.   Because Bohicket Road is part of the islanders' evacuation route, closing both bridges is not really an option.   They would have to stop work during hurricane season, a choice that would likely double the time frame for replacing the bridges.   Mike Leatherwood, a council member and chairman of the Johns Island Transportation Committee, said that although the state has a plan to replant the number of trees it removes, it is not a comparable trade-off. Replanted trees would not be grand, but likely just 4 to 5 inches in diameter.   "One of the trees that would be cut is a 60-inch oak. We couldn't imagine losing that," Leatherwood said.   Kiawah Mayor William Wert said any improvement to Bohicket Road is a welcome improvement. But he stresses that the improvement can only be looked at as a short-term fix to the area's growing traffic problems. A completely new road needs to be built to accommodate traffic, he said.   "All those little crosses aren't there (on trees along Bohicket) for religious reasons," Wert said. "They are there because somebody died. All improvements are just short-term fixes until we have another road built across Johns Island."

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