Color Hair Salon near Johns Island, SC

Charleston County Council members suggested there was an urgent need to approve $75 million last year to continue planning and buying rights of way for the Interstate 526 extension project. Supporters claimed the money was needed to keep the project on track in anticipation that voters would approve a multibillion-dollar financing plan for it this November.

It turns out that little to none of that money has been spent. And very little might be spent until — and unless — county voters agree to extend a half-cent sales tax that would generate the additional $2 billion needed to complete what might be the single-most controversial highway project in the county’s history.

That’s actually a good thing, as further spending on 526 before the November vote likely would be a waste. But the disappointing aspect is while county officials apparently have been gaslighting voters as to the need for immediate funding for the Mark Clark, they have failed to make meaningful progress on the smaller-scale projects that are far less difficult to build and could provide congestion relief sooner, such as the pitchforks planned north and south of Maybank Highway, from the Stono River to River Road. Nor has the county found a way to add turn lanes at Main Road and St. Johns High or at Main and Chisolm, two other easily fixed chokepoints.

It’s hard to believe this isn’t an intentional strategy to perpetuate the wrongheaded notion that Johns Island needs a $2-billion-plus ribbon of concrete to solve its congestion problems. That’s simply not the case; that money would be much better spent on the more immediate improvements, and the county still would have more than $1 billion left over for conservation work that could ensure the island keeps at least some of its rural character. While the island’s southern half gets some protection from a rural-urban boundary line, we have seen more than one recent proposal on the rural side of the line that many considered too much, too dense. Don’t expect proposals such as the controversial health and wellness village planned at Bohicket Road and Betsy Kerrison Parkway to go away until the southern end is protected by conservation deals, not just a zoning line.

Most people recognize that traffic congestion is considered Johns Island’s No. 1 challenge, but it wasn’t until last November that Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg and a few Charleston County Council members held a news conference to announce their firm commitment to add lanes to Maybank Highway between the Stono River and River Road, and revive plans for a southern pitchfork that would create a new road off Maybank between the Stono River bridge and River Road and to realign Cane Slash Road to meet up better with that new southern pitchfork. County Council should express a similar sense of urgency to get them funded, perhaps with some of the $75 million that won’t be spent this year.

Diverting that money should not harm I-526, which remains in limbo until November at the earliest. And who knows? The November’s sales tax referendum, which is expected to feature 526 prominently, could finally be the fatal blow to this too-long-lived zombie project.

Johns Island has seen worsening congestion not only because of its growth but also because the specter of 526′s extension has slowed any meaningful progress on the smaller but still significant improvements that would help ease congestion. These smaller projects will be needed regardless of what happens on Nov. 5; those who truly care about addressing Johns Island’s traffic should focus on getting them built as quickly as they can.

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Officials with the city of Charleston and Charleston County have announced a plan to address traffic concerns on Johns Island.

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said the plan is the result of collaboration between the city of Charleston and Charleston County and will tackle traffic flow problems at the intersection of Maybank Highway and River Road, portions of Maybank Highway and the northern and southern Pitchforks, Tecklenburg said.

“Traffic congestion has been a huge issue coming and going on Johns Island,” he said. “And it was accentuated when that traffic light got added down the street. And everyone came to the realization that we needed to go back and rethink what got done six or seven years ago, what’s been done since then and what can we do collectively and collaboratively to make it better and make improvements.”

The city and county laid out the main points of the plan:

“Pitchforks” means two new roads that will branch off of Maybank towards River.

“The current cost estimate sits somewhere between $25 and $30 million to do all of this,” Charleston County Councilmember Joe Boykin said.

Tecklenburg said the money will come from future sales tax and Department of Transportation funding and once permitted, will apply for federal funding.

The full construction funding will have to be identified and approved by both city and county councils, according to Tecklenburg.

The first goal for short-term, interim improvements to Maybank Highway are expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2024, Tecklenburg said.

Robby Lingenfelter who works on Johns Island said he’s hopeful about the project but still frustrated.

“They say that the northern pitchfork will be completed by the first quarter of 2024, that’s good,” he said. “Southern pitchfork they said will take years, so we’re still five to ten years from alleviating the issues we have now.”

He said the city and county have been meeting since June to address the traffic issues on Johns Island.

“It’s going to happen. We are committed to making that happen,” Tecklenburg said.

Some locals question the mayor’s timing.

“Hearing this press conference that is happening five days before an election, can’t help but notice that a lot of this was conceptual and funding for a lot of this isn’t even secured,” Logan Mcvey said. “So, this seems like more talk and a lot more traffic just sitting and waiting on stuff to happen.”

Tecklenburg’s response was that they needed enough vetting through engineers and design teams before the plans could be presented.

Charleston County Council member Jenny Huneycutt, Charleston City Council member Karl Brady and the city’s planning and traffic directors also attended the news conference.

WATCH THE CHARLESTON LEADERS ANNOUNCE THE JOHNS ISLAND TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENT PLAN BELOW

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The Charleston County Aviation Authority and Lowcountry Land Trust have announced in a news release the permanent protection of a 90-acre site once threatened by development in the heart of Johns Island.

The action comes after years of collaboration through the Johns Island Community Conservation Initiative, a partnership of The Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation, Coastal Conservation League, Lowcountry Land Trust, and Open Space Institute, a news release stated.

Positioned at the mouth of Burden Creek, only a few feet above sea level, and sitting along Charleston’s Urban Growth Boundary adjacent to the Charleston Executive Airport, Oakville-Burden Creek’s 90 acres were once marked for development, the release stated. Despite extensive discussion about the perils of developing flood-prone areas and vocal community opposition, zoning laws allowed for the construction of over 200 houses on the property, according to the release.

In 2021, Charleston County Aviation Authority purchased the land, and last month, the property was permanently protected under a conservation easement placed by Lowcountry Land Trust, the release stated. Funding for the purchase of the conservation easement was provided by South Carolina Conservation Bank and Charleston County Greenbelt Program.

“The protection of Oakville-Burden Creek represents the power of collective work and reinforces the integrity of Johns Island’s historical, natural, and rural heritage resources and guarantees that development will never threaten Burden Creek again,” said Ashley Demosthenes, president and CEO, Lowcountry Land Trust, in the release. “A broad base of partnerships and relationships truly made this effort possible.”

The property protection not only offers benefits for quality of life and conservation, but also it plays a role to ensure incompatible uses don’t occur immediately adjacent to an airport, according to the release.

“The Aviation Authority remains cognizant of the need to preserve the environment while at the same time allowing for development and growth,” said Elliott Summey, CEO and executive director, Charleston County Aviation Authority, in the release. “The greenspace north of the airport will enhance the protection of land allowing the Authority to potentially create a future runway within the airfield footprint, acting as a buffer zone for safety and operational purposes.”

Lowcountry Land Trust, which in the past has collaborated with entities such as Boeing, Volvo and the South Carolina Ports Authority, holds the conservation easement, according to the releaese.

The conservation easement comes at a critical moment as Johns Island’s agriculturally zoned farmland and forest properties, some close to Oakville-Burden Creek and the Urban Growth Boundary, are constantly threatened by development, the release stated.

“Permanent conservation of the open space along the edge of the Urban Growth Boundary helps stabilize traditional rural communities by preventing suburban sprawl and the associated increase in taxes and service fees,” Michelle Sinkler, special projects director for the Open Space Institute, said in the release.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston County held a public hearing Tuesday night to discuss and hear from anyone interested in the development of a large medical village on Johns Island.

The planned development, located between 4357 and 4365 Betsy Kerrison Parkway, called the Island Park Medical Village would take up more than 17 acres.

The medical village has been a topic among residents of the islands for months now with polarizing opinions supporting and against the development.

More than 30 people spoke during public comment and hundreds of letters were sent to the council in opposition.

RELATED: Neighbor worried about proposed development on Johns Island

Developers are requesting to rezone the land from low-density residential to large-scale medical office park with almost 160,000 maximum square feet of business space.

The medical village was proposed to Charleston County Planning Commission Members back on November 13 with all 7 members denying the zoning request.

Tuesday night, the questions raised included what types of medical options and concerns about traffic.

“We do agree that we need medical facilities, that we do need access,” Long-time Johns Island Resident, Tamara Butler, says. “My question is just what kinds of medical facilities are going to be there and what services are going to be provided.”

Almost 900 property owners on Kiawah Island were surveyed with 80% saying they are against the medical village and think the size of the project is too large.

“In this particular instance, the site of it, the location, the scope and the scale, feels out of character with the area of the island,” Lowcountry Land Trust President Ashley Demosthenes says.

However some community members want the development, sharing why the area needs accessible medical facilities closer to their homes.

“We lack health care. So, this project, the wellness village, actually helps alleviate a lot of that for us because now we’re going to go in a different direction,” Long-time Johns Island Resident, Jim Hart, says.

Developers say they have held meetings to hear from the community about what they want out of the project, and have reduced the project’s size by 25%.

“We care about the community. All we want to do is to provide a development that meets the needs of the people, to curtail the traffic and to allow people to have a choice,” project developer Jill Skerchek says.

With no action being taken, the developers will present the plan again in two weeks to the county council with any possible changes they make in the meantime.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

While the Mark Clark Extension project remains uncertain and mostly unfunded, multiple Johns Island road projects estimated to cost hundreds of millions continue to slowly move forward.

Some road projects have faced delays, frustrating residents of Johns Island where the population doubled from 2010 to 2020 and traffic is a large concern. One project known as the Northern Pitchfork is underway and could be finished a month earlier than expected.

“It actually might be done in January,” said Devri Detoma, Charleston County’s transportation engineering manager.

The Northern Pitchfork is a small road connection aimed at letting island-bound traffic on Maybank Highway avoid the congested intersection at River Road for those who would be turning right. The new connection would send some traffic to a new intersection on River Road above Maybank Highway.

John Zlogar, co-founder of the group Rational Roads for Johns Island, said the new connection should help at least temporarily.

“The problem is, there are going to be hundreds of new apartments right around there,” he said. “Build the roads and they will come.”

There are just two ways on and off that service Johns Island and the communities beyond — Kiawah, Seabrook and Wadmalaw islands and the town of Rockville. Traffic backups during busy times of day or whenever there’s an accident are a source of ongoing frustration on the islands.

A $2.2 billion plan to extend the Mark Clark Expressway across the island, from West Ashley to James Island, could soon move into the permitting phase. Most of the funding remains uncertain, however, and could depend on a 2024 vote on extending the countywide added sales tax.

Charleston County has been working on projects to ease the jams at Maybank Highway and River Road, and at Main Road and U.S. Highway 17 — the intersections at the two bridges crossing the Stono River. And there are plans to ease traffic and improve safety on existing roads on Johns Island.

NORTH CHARLESTON — To continue efforts to become the Coast Guard’s “operational center of gravity” on the East Coast, officials broke ground Jan. 26 on its new $160 million campus.

This 64-acre site along the Cooper River — just south of the former naval base that closed in 1996 — will house an administration building and redesigned 1,100-foot concrete pier.

Construction is expected to begin later this year and be completed in 2026.

“This Charleston campus will have improved infrastructure that translates into more productive personnel and more efficient operations,” said Capt. Neal Armstrong, the commanding officer of facilities design and construction.

The 51,500-square-foot administration building will provide training and conference room space, and additional rooms dedicated to cutter ship support.

Sustainability is a priority, so the new facility will achieve net-zero energy usage and a net-zero carbon footprint, Armstrong said.

The current Pier November will be replaced with a pier more than three feet taller to enhance durability during coastal storms. It will provide utilities to support five national security cutters and a 90-ton crane, which is critical for dockside maintenance, Armstrong said.

During the design and construction phases nearly 60 subcontractors will support the two main contractors on the project, Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and RQ Construction LLC, providing work for nearly 900 people.

Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Linda Fagan, who spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony, said every Coast Guard mission begins and ends at a shore facility. When the ships are not at sea, they need a base that can provide necessary maintenance, she added.

The missions conducted at Base Charleston are vital to protecting national security and economic prosperity, Fagan said, adding that the new campus will aid in “lifesaving work,” including patrolling the waters for smuggled narcotics.