North Charleston is asking people who drive, work and live near Rivers and Durant avenues how to fix a railroad crossing that officials say could slow the region’s planned bus rapid transit line.
Trains crossing Rivers Avenue near Durant Avenue regularly delay traffic, limit emergency access and block cyclists and pedestrians, according to the study’s website. Those problems are expected to grow as rail traffic increases and Lowcountry Rapid Transit begins running in the corridor, the site says.
“With the Lowcountry Rapid Transit coming, it’s not going to be very rapid if there’s a train that blocks it four to five times a day,” City Councilman Brandon Hudson told The Post and Courier, which reported on the study Oct. 12.
Hudson also told the newspaper that the existing rail flyover on nearby Hock Avenue is too short for tractor-trailers, forcing them through the Liberty Hill neighborhood.
The city and the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments are leading the study with the Federal Railroad Administration and the South Carolina Department of Transportation. It covers Rivers Avenue from about Piggly Wiggly Drive to Columbia Avenue, including Hock Avenue and the Seven-Mile Viaduct. A $940,000 federal Railroad Crossing Elimination grant and $260,000 from the city are paying for it.
Consultants are evaluating several options, including an overpass that would eliminate the street-level crossing, Meg Thompson, the city’s community development and innovation coordinator, told the newspaper. Alternative plans for the crossing will not be presented during this first phase of community engagement, she said.
A virtual public meeting is posted at RiversDurantPEL.com through Nov. 11, the newspaper reported. The study is expected to continue through May 2027, according to its website. The Post and Courier reported that the final report is expected to be completed by June 2027.
Paying for construction is a separate question. Charleston County’s Nov. 3 transportation sales tax referendum includes $175.9 million for the crossing, and some money from a $40 million settlement with the State Ports Authority in 2021 has been set aside for the project, The Post and Courier reported.
“We’re looking at the transportation sales tax as construction dollars. We will also pursue other federal grants, if needed, to find the money to construct this,” Thompson said.
Construction on Lowcountry Rapid Transit is expected to start next year, the newspaper reported.
