SCDOT puts its $1.43 billion plan to widen I-526 before the public

The South Carolina Department of Transportation on Thursday opened the public hearing for its plan to widen Interstate 526 between West Ashley and North Charleston. The department ranks the stretch of I-526 between I-26 and Virginia Avenue as the most congested segment of interstate highway in the state, according to its draft environmental study.

The I-526 Lowcountry Corridor West project covers the interstate from Paul Cantrell Boulevard in West Ashley to Virginia Avenue in North Charleston. It aims to add capacity at the I-26/I-526 interchange and along the I-526 mainline, SCDOT said.

The department’s draft environmental impact statement, prepared with the Federal Highway Administration, puts the cost of the recommended preferred alternative at $1.43 billion. That design would require 113 relocations: 94 residential, 16 businesses, a church and two community facilities, the draft says.

The community facilities are the Highland Terrace-Liberty Park and Russelldale community centers in North Charleston, according to the draft. Impacts on the Russelldale, Liberty Park, Ferndale and Highland Terrace neighborhoods, which the study identifies as environmental justice communities, have been a major focus of discussion among the agencies, residents and a community advisory council, the draft says. SCDOT is seeking comment on a draft mitigation plan for those communities along with the study.

The draft says the preferred design would fix 26 of 30 geometric problems identified along the corridor. It also notes that I-526 provides the only freeway access to two port terminals, North Charleston and Wando Welch.

“This public hearing represents a major milestone for the I-526 Lowcountry Corridor WEST project,” SCDOT Project Manager Joy Riley said in the department’s announcement.

The hearing is mostly online. SCDOT will also hold appointment-only, in-person sessions starting Nov. 19 at its community office in Gas Lite Square, 5627 Rivers Ave., and a live virtual comment session Dec. 15. Comments must be submitted or postmarked by Jan. 15, 2021.