State Infrastructure Bank Approves Funding to Complete the Septima Clark Parkway Transportation Improvement Project
February 12, 2012
CHARLESTON, SC – Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. announced that the South Carolina State Infrastructure Bank voted unanimously today to provide $88 million which will enable the completion of the Septima Clark Parkway Transportation Improvement Project, a vital project that will build the underground drainage infrastructure necessary to solve US Highway 17’s flooding problem on the Charleston Peninsula.
Mayor Riley said, “I would like to thank the State Infrastructure Bank for this funding which will enable us to complete this most important $154 million project. When completed, local residents and homeowners, churches, our very important hospitals and schools, and motorists who travel the roadway will find safe and dry passage across this part of the peninsula, and our neighborhoods here will no longer flood. The project will produce jobs for our citizens and great benefits for the safety and capacity of the Septima Clark Parkway, which helps every citizen and business that depends on the Crosstown Expressway, including the Port of Charleston. “
The initial phase of construction was funded by $10 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s TIGER Grant Program, a part of President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The SC Department of Transportation has provided an additional $25 million 50/50 grant. The City of Charleston contributed $12.5 Million for this grant. Additionally, the City of Charleston has contributed approximately $10 million which includes funding for the engineering and design work for the project.
Mayor Riley said that the remaining funding will come from City and federal funds. The City will now be able to continue with the next 4 phases of the project uninterrupted through to completion. The project corrects the damage done during the 1960s when the highway was built without adequate drainage infrastructure.
The current phase of construction has required the closure of two of US Highway 17’s six lanes. When this phase is complete, the remaining phases will not disrupt the flow of traffic.
