Last week, rainfall and king tides joined forces to create traffic congestion mayhem at the US-17 and Main Road intersection in West Ashley. This critical intersection serves as the sea islands’ hurricane evacuation route and is in dire need of reconfiguration, including construction of a raised “flyover” road that won’t flood during hurricane evacuation.
The current plan for that intersection is a “Superstreet,” an at-grade design that removes the existing traffic light and forces drivers to U-turn, but does nothing to address the low-lying road’s flooding issues. Charleston County selected the Superstreet design over the the elevated flyover because it is cheaper. Fortunately, there is still time to change that decision.
We need Charleston County Council to act quickly to implement immediate solutions, like the flyover at US-17 and Main Road and the Maybank Pitchfork, to stop these intersections from compromising our personal safety and daily commutes.
Please plan to attend County Council’s meeting on September 15th to support funding projects that can be built right now to address the safety issues associated with crumbling infrastructure and extreme weather conditions.
There will be an opportunity for public comment at the beginning of the meeting, so be sure to voice your support for the reallocation of funds to the grade-separated interchange!
Charleston County Council Meeting
Tuesday, September 15th
6:30pm
Lonnie Hamilton, III Public Services Building
2nd Floor, 4045 Bridge View Drive
North Charleston, South Carolina 29405