Should I-526 finally be completed?

[Spartan]

Big update on 526 today. SCDOT has narrowed it down to 6 route alternatives, which they will present at several public meetings that start on Thursday:

I'm partial to #36.

[Vourmbianigoat]

My concern with the completion of 526, is that it will end at Calhoon Street in downtown Charleston. There is no where for traffic to go, and only one other single lane that loops around to merge with two other streets all competing for a single lane to 17 north and 17 south, which is already a traffic jam all day long.

So the question is will there be another off ramp that will hook into the Ashley River Bridge, the "Crosstown" which is 17 north?

My guess is that the misty eyed folks downtown see the last leg as an empty freeway leading them to the promised land, when in fact it could become bumper to bumper traffic on the James Island Connector, and would then choke off downtown from the last accessible shopping area, which they all use.

Anyone have any clue on plans for improving the dead end of the 526 "Beltway"?

Whatever they decide to do, they definitely need to fix the broken system that leads downtown at the same time as they tackle the route in WA & JI. Why the connector does not intersect with 17 directly is asinine and simply shows severe myopia on part of the designers. I sit in traffic regularly having to wind my way through Lockwood Blvd. just to get to 17 from the connector. It's terrible from the other way, too. Coming from the Riverdogs stadium I make a left on a weird turn lane that turns once every blue moon because of all the traffic coming from James Island the other way trying to get on 17, drive down some broken side road by MUSC buildings to finally find my way to 17.

My main point is that throwing even more traffic on an already broken system is very unwise and the design of 526 needs to incorporate the Lockwood Blvd. area, too.

[ohioaninSC]

Big update on 526 today. SCDOT has narrowed it down to 6 route alternatives, which they will present at several public meetings that start on Thursday:

I'm partial to #36.

I like #11 and #36...they don't look much different from each other....I'm guessing though that it's still a decade away from being done as slow as they move on big projects in this state.

[Spartan]

You're right, but I think 36 might have fewer flyovers, or its at the very least a more compact design. Alternate #36 requires all traffic from John's Island to access the interstate via River Rd, presumably instead of Maybank.

[digital_sandlapper]

I'm praying for #1 or #10. I don't want ANY access on or off I-526 on Johns Island--just an elevated "parkway". That way, commuters going from downtown to West Ashley or N. Chas. and vice-versa will benefit without Johns Island being ruined by increased traffic.

[knightrider162]

I'm praying for #1 or #10. I don't want ANY access on or off I-526 on Johns Island--just an elevated "parkway". That way, commuters going from downtown to West Ashley or N. Chas. and vice-versa will benefit without Johns Island being ruined by increased traffic.

#1 and number 10 will still have access on John's Island, just not in the form of special interchanges as denoted in the other drawings. Building that stretch without access would be a waste of money and would cause a public uproar in the case of evacuation as more development on that island is inevitable. Sorry to ruin your optimism though.

[ohioaninSC]

#1 and number 10 will still have access on John's Island, just not in the form of special interchanges as denoted in the other drawings. Building that stretch without access would be a waste of money and would cause a public uproar in the case of evacuation as more development on that island is inevitable. Sorry to ruin your optimism though.

Agreed, w/ the growth in the Low Country, you can't expect John's Island to stay rural...it will develop, and the extension of 526 to there will have to have at least one interchange on the island to help facilitate the evacuation of Johns Island along w/ Seabrook and Kiawah Islands during hurricane evacs.

[MazdaStrider]

Agreed, w/ the growth in the Low Country, you can't expect John's Island to stay rural...it will develop, and the extension of 526 to there will have to have at least one interchange on the island to help facilitate the evacuation of Johns Island along w/ Seabrook and Kiawah Islands during hurricane evacs.

Yeah After reading the thread, I think that the stretch needs to be finished, anyways because the number one important reason: Hurricane evacuation. It is important. That is what these people who opposes it should have thought of at the first time before jumping conclusions.

[vicupstate]

Agreed, w/ the growth in the Low Country, you can't expect John's Island to stay rural...it will develop, and the extension of 526 to there will have to have at least one interchange on the island to help facilitate the evacuation of Johns Island along w/ Seabrook and Kiawah Islands during hurricane evacs.

Actually, there is an urban growth boundary that cuts right through John's island. The expectation/hope is that development will occur on the inside but not the outside of the boundary. Having the highway come in will put tremendous pressure on that boundary. We have to draw the line on sprawl somewhere, and it might as well be on John's Island.

I think we need to re-think the hurricane evac 'reason' as well. Let's face it, a major hurricane evac happens once a decade or less. And you always get at least 48 hours notice. It might be a b*tch, but that is enough time to get out of danger. When was the last time you heard someone was killled in a hurricane while they were in their car driving away from it? The people that are going to leave leave, and the people that are going to ride it out stay.

If John's Island wants to stay rural and live with the roads they already have, I am very hestitant to push the extention on them. There are plenty of projects WITHOUT opposition. Spend the money there instead.

[digital_sandlapper]

Actually, there is an urban growth boundary that cuts right through John's island. The expectation/hope is that development will occur on the inside but not the outside of the boundary. Having the highway come in will put tremendous pressure on that boundary. We have to draw the line on sprawl somewhere, and it might as well be on John's Island.

I think we need to re-think the hurricane evac 'reason' as well. Let's face it, a major hurricane evac happens once a decade or less. And you always get at least 48 hours notice. It might be a b*tch, but that is enough time to get out of danger. When was the last time you heard someone was killled in a hurricane while they were in their car driving away from it? The people that are going to leave leave, and the people that are going to ride it out stay.

If John's Island wants to stay rural and live with the roads they already have, I am very hestitant to push the extention on them. There are plenty of projects WITHOUT opposition. Spend the money there instead.

Vicupstate, I agree with you 100%--especially what you said about the hurricane evac "reason". It is just an excuse used by the developers to strike fear in residents and would-be opponents. It really is a flimsy argument for the reasons you articulated so well. What a joke--don't fall for it, Johns Islanders!

Throwing out the hurricane fear tactic "reason", I still say a parkway connecting the James Island Connector to the Mark Clark Expwy over Johns Island but with NO interchanges to exit/get on would be perfect. Imagine how that would alleviate the Folly Road traffic in South Windemere, not to mention Savannah Highway to and from James Island and downtown.

[Spartan]

When traffic becomes a nightmare on John's Island, people will complain that it's SCDOT didn't build them any exits.

[vicupstate]

Hasn't history taught us that you can't pave your way out of congestion?

The new highway will add as much (or most likely MORE) traffic than it will alleviate.

If the highway is built with exits, the amount of traffic on the island will INCREASE, not decrease. Right now there are people that strike John's Island off the list of places to live because the access is limited. Once that excuse is gone, then they will move there thus adding more congestion.

[RestedTraveler]

Here's an observation from an outsider that is moving to the Charleston area soon. This comes after having spent the past 3 days driving all over the Charleston Metro looking into housing options in various areas of town. I-526 is great. I used it quite a few times to get from North City over to Mount Pleasant and over to West Ashley. However, that being said, I don't see any real benefit to continuing the expressway on down into Johns Island or James Island.

IMHO the SCDOT should put their resources towards:

• a) improving the I-26/I-526 interchange. Traffic gets a bit snarled there during rush hour and the flow and merge of traffic at that interchange could definitely be improved.
  
• b) building one or two more bridges (north of I-526) over the Ashley River at strategic locations (extend Michaux Parkway, or Ashley Phosphate Rd, for example) to connect Ashley River Road to Dorchester Road...this will become increasingly necessary as more development takes place in West Ashley along Bees Ferry Road and in the area around the proposed Long Savannah development. It may also provide traffic relief in the way of alternative routes to people commuting from Summerville down into Charleston or West Ashley.
  

[Amapper]

Saying that building new highways creates more traffic and congestion is misinformation that has been preached by the NIMBY crowd for years to scare residents into supporting their utopian ideals of urban planning. Does anyone actually think we were better off before they widened Ashley Phosphate Rd, Ladson Rd, Trolley Rd, 17A, Collage Park Rd and Interstate 26, not to mention the new Copper River Bridge? If you have congestion in an area, the need for highways is already there. Why is it easier to get around in Columbia than Charleston? Maybe five interstate legs and dozens of "alternate" routes.

The very people who propose mass transit as the only answer to congestion are most likely to not use it. We need both and quickly to prevent a disruption of commerce in our region. Interstate 526 was designed as a beltway. It needs to be finished.

[vicupstate]

^^ How can ANYBODY believe that extending I-526 will not INCREASE the amount of traffic on John's Island?

If the extention took place in a vacuum, sure there would be an alleviation of congestion. But once the island is accessible by interstate, hotels, restaurants, and everything else that you can name, that would not now consider the island, will build there. This same scenario has played out hundreds of thousands of times all across the country. If you build for higher traffic and development, sooner of later it will come. In it's wake will be even MORE congestion.

Fortunately, it is starting to appear that maybe this extention won't get built after all.

Columbia has it's share of congestion, and the reason Charleston has more has more to do with the two rivers restricting travel into a small numbers of bottleneck crossings.

RT's post makes a lot of sense to me.

[Infinite1]

Here's an observation from an outsider that is moving to the Charleston area soon. This comes after having spent the past 3 days driving all over the Charleston Metro looking into housing options in various areas of town. I-526 is great. I used it quite a few times to get from North City over to Mount Pleasant and over to West Ashley. However, that being said, I don't see any real benefit to continuing the expressway on down into Johns Island or James Island.

IMHO the SCDOT should put their resources towards:

• a) improving the I-26/I-526 interchange. Traffic gets a bit snarled there during rush hour and the flow and merge of traffic at that interchange could definitely be improved.
  
• b) building one or two more bridges (north of I-526) over the Ashley River at strategic locations (extend Michaux Parkway, or Ashley Phosphate Rd, for example) to connect Ashley River Road to Dorchester Road...this will become increasingly necessary as more development takes place in West Ashley along Bees Ferry Road and in the area around the proposed Long Savannah development. It may also provide traffic relief in the way of alternative routes to people commuting from Summerville down into Charleston or West Ashley.
  

a. upgrading of I-26 between 526 and Ashley Phospahate is already under way. THis should help with the bottle neck that currently occurs there.

b. No way will either of the crossings you propose (or probably any other) ever occur because of the never ending parade of historic plantations along the western bank of the Ashley. Not to mention, if Ashley Phosphate were extended it would run right through my neighborhood...LOL

[Spartan]

^^ How can ANYBODY believe that extending I-526 will not INCREASE the amount of traffic on John's Island?

If the extention took place in a vacuum, sure there would be an alleviation of congestion. But once the island is accessible by interstate, hotels, restaurants, and everything else that you can name, that would not now consider the island, will build there. This same scenario has played out hundreds of thousands of times all across the country. If you build for higher traffic and development, sooner of later it will come. In it's wake will be even MORE congestion.

Fortunately, it is starting to appear that maybe this extention won't get built after all.

Columbia has it's share of congestion, and the reason Charleston has more has more to do with the two rivers restricting travel into a small numbers of bottleneck crossings.

RT's post makes a lot of sense to me.

The highway itself will not increase traffic. It will probably alter traffic patterns on James Island significantly, but since Maybank Highway doesn't really go anywhere, traffic patterns will remain the same.... the MAJOR caveat to that statement, however, is that it assumes Charleston City and County hold up their agreement to not allow any new development on John's Island. Of course, this is South Carolina, so WHEN development happens out there, then traffic will get worse.

You also have to ask yourself this: if the highway doesn't get built, and development still happens on John's Island, what happens to the road network out there?

[RestedTraveler]

The latest news on this (from July 29th):

DOT unveils plan for low-speed 4-lane parkway with bike access to complete I-526...

[Spartan]

I actually think this is a pretty good plan. The 4 connector roads increase access to the road, so 17 South will not be as bad as it currently is during rush hour.

I hate interstates, so the fact that this will be a 'surface' street is much better. Not only are they less obtrusive, they are easier to maintain. Mayor Riley supports it, which is also key. Hopefully they can find the funding to build this thing!

[I Miss Columbia]

Yes! For sure!

What pisses me off is that they should have built I-526 at least as 3 lanes when it was being built. It's going to be very difficult to expand the section from I-26 across the Cooper and Wando rivers because the whole thing is a bridge over marshlands!

Also, headed west on I-526 to I-26 is a nightmare. There needs to be a flyover (flydown?) exit for I-526 traffic to get onto I-26. Having Rivers Ave. traffice coming onto I-526 while I-526 traffic is trying to merge over into the same lane...INSANE!!!