Mount Pleasant Magazine March April 2019

north mount pleasant www.NorthMountPleasant.com | www.ParkWestNeighborhoods.com | www.BrickyardHomes.com NMP increasing the roadway’s capacity, improving traffic flow and addressing safety and future growth concerns. The two-lane road eventually will be widened to a five- lane curb and gutter section with a raised, planted median and multi-use path for bikers and pedestrians along one side of the roadway, according to Berkeley County Public Information Officer Hannah Moldenhauer. Improvements on phase one of the project, scheduled for completion late in 2019, involve a 4-mile stretch of Clements Ferry from Interstate 526 to Jack Primus Road. The South Carolina Department of Transportation is managing this part of the project, which is funded by the 1-cent sales tax approved by Berkeley County in 2008. The county is managing phase two, a 4.5-mile stretch from Jack Primus Road to Highway 41. This part of the project also will include four signalized intersections. Preliminary engineering and an environmental assessment have already been completed on phase two. Right-of-way acquisition began in January and is expected to be completed by late 2019, said Moldenhauer. Approximately 100 properties will need to be purchased, and various utilities will have to be relocated during this stage of the project. Phase two is expected to be ready for construction by the end of 2019, with an anticipated completion date of spring 2021. The projected cost for phase two of the Clements Ferry widening is $42.5 million. Berkeley County will receive $9 million in federal Guideshare funds allocated by the Charleston Area Transportation Study. Taxpayers will cover the balance through Berkeley County’s 2014 1-cent sales tax increase. “This road would not have occurred without the taxpayers of Berkeley County passing a 1-cent sales tax to provide the basis of funding,” noted Berkeley County Photos by Thomas Runion.