Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2019

www.MPBusinessMag.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com MPB mp business 2018. Design work on the road, which will connect Highway 17 to Rifle Range and run through a future park jointly owned by the town of Mount Pleasant and Charleston County, is scheduled to be completed in September 2019, with construction wrapping up in September 2022. The total cost of the work, including design and engineering, land acquisition and construction, is expected to be $10.5 million. The original estimate was $16.8 million. Morrison said the difference has been dedicated to other transportation projects. The Connector will provide direct access to Billy Swails Boulevard and help take traffic off Highway 17 and Rifle Range Road. BILLY SWAILS BOULEVARD 4B This section of Billy Swails Boulevard will complete a five-mile corridor the town has been working on for nearly 20 years: extending the road from Highway 17 to Porchers Bluff. The newest part of the road — which is also known as Hungryneck Boulevard and Sweetgrass Basket Parkway as it heads northeast from Highway 17 — will be a two- lane divided highway with a landscaped median and bike and pedestrian facilities. Construction on the $14 million project is scheduled to be completed in August 2022. Morrison said $10 million of its cost would come from the federal government. SHEM CREEK BRIDGE BIKE LANES Preliminary plans are currently being reviewed by the South Carolina Department of Transportation. The federal government will kick in $633,000 of the total cost of $900,000. PATRIOTS POINT INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS Plans call for turn lanes to be added on Patriots Point Road, Magrath Darby Boulevard and Coleman Boulevard, along with a receiving lane on Patriots Point. In addition, bike lanes will be extended from Patriots Point to Bayview Drive. Work is expected to begin in June 2021. The cost of the project will be $8.7 million. MARITIME PORT DISTRICT TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS This project consists of work at the intersection of Long Point Road and Wando Park Boulevard and perhaps Long Point Road to Shipping Lane. It is aimed at enhancing safety and traffic flow. The cost of the work is still to be determined, as is the timeline for construction. PARK WEST BOULEVARD WIDENING Construction that will widen the entire road to four lanes from the existing four lanes at the town’s recreation complex to the Bessemer Road roundabout got underway in June 2019. The project, which is expected to cost $9.7 million and be completed in December 2020, will include drainage and safety improvements and add biking and walking facilities, as well as improvements to the existing Queensgate Way roundabout. IMPROVEMENTS ON PARK WEST BOULEVARD AT STOCKDALE STREET This project will consider alternatives to improve the flow of traffic and enhance safety at this intersection. A roundabout and signalized intersection improvements were considered, and a roundabout option with a new connecting leg into the Park West School campus was approved for design. The cost and construction timeline have not yet been determined. HIGHWAY 41 One of the Mount Pleasant area’s most controversial transportation issues is the widening of Highway 41. According to Morrison, Charleston County must decide on the route the road will take and what the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 17 eventually will look like — and then the plans must be approved by the Army Corps of Engineers. Possibilities include making the existing road four lanes and routing it around the Phillips Community through Park West and Dunes West. Morrison said a public hearing on the subject probably will be held in October. Mount Pleasant Transportation Director Brad Morrison, left, and Transportation Infrastructure Division Chief Paul Lykins talk about the extension of All American Boulevard.