Statement from Elliott Summey, Charleston County Board Chairman
May 31, 2016
By Elliott Summey
Charleston County Board Chairman
May 26, 2016
Today was a slap in the face to Charleston County. Along with the City of Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg and State Representative Leon Stavrinakis, I traveled to Columbia to plead to the State Infrastructure Bank to reassess the decision about funding for I-526. After more than three hours of back and forth with the SIB – which at one time seemed hopeful – they decided against any type of assistance for road funding for our county. This decision is a serious disappointment to not only me, but to all of the residents of Charleston County. Their decision to not move forward with funding for the completion of I-526 has just put Charleston County in a very precarious situation. Without the completion of this roadway, our residents should expect longer commute times, more cars on current roadways that can only handle so much wear and tear and of course, the one natural disaster no one wants to talk about …. a hurricane. Remember when flooding closed Main Road on Johns Island recently just from heavy rains? Imagine when there’s a tropical depression/storm or hurricane. There will be limited places for our residents to evacuate because of this decision.
On my way back to Charleston from Columbia, I remembered an October 2015 article from The State newspaper where two conservation activists literally laid down during rush hour on the Pamplico Highway for more than a minute before a car arrived … however the state of South Carolina will fork over $340 million to expand it into a five lane highway from a two lane highway. I would like to offer the same opportunity for those that did not approve the decision for Charleston County – but did approve the Pamplico Highway expansion – to try the same experiment at Maybank Highway, River Road, Chisolm Road, Bees Ferry Road, Glenn McConnell Parkway, I-526, Main Road, Folly Road, James Island Connector and Savannah Highway without being hit by a car in less than one second. According to this stated article, the State Infrastructure Bank is paying nearly 70 percent of cost of Florence County projects, which is unacceptable.
With our county being awarded more accolades the last few years – more than many of our nation’s cities combined – it’s frustrating that some of our state officials don’t find the Lowcountry roads to be a priority. It is a priority to my colleagues, constituents and I to build and create safe, effective routes for everyday life and disaster situations. We will come together and make this work.
In service,
Elliott Summey
Charleston County Board Chairman
* From The State Newspaper on October 24, 2015
The traffic on Pamplico Highway was so light on a Tuesday in August that two conservation activists could lie down in the middle of the two-lane highway during rush hour for about a minute before a vehicle appeared, yet the State of South Carolina will pay $340 million to transform it into a five lane highway.
Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/
