Big Changes Coming to Bees Ferry Road

With funding from the Charleston County Transportation Sales Tax Program work to improve Bees Ferry Road began in earnest this month.

Currently, most of the work is being done along the existing road with heavy machinery clearing trees to prepare for the road expansion, which will take the roadway to four or six lanes from Ashley River Road to Savannah Highway. County officials stress that traffic disruptions during the work, which is projected to be completed by April 2014, will be minimal and won't occur during the morning or afternoon rush hours.

"Day time lane closures are not permitted on Bees Ferry Road," Charleston County Engineer Molli LeMin said via email. "In general, lane closures will be conducted after 8 p.m. Major detours and re-routing of traffic is not expected. Traffic alerts will be issued when necessary to keep the public informed of scheduled work."

However one thing drivers should notice is a new speed limit on Bees Ferry Road, which will be 35 MPH for the duration of the construction project, LeMin said.

The widening project was included in the county's 2006 $205-million bond referendum for the Roadwise Program that also included Bee Street/Courtenay Drive improvements, Folly Road at Camp Road intersection improvements, Glen McConnell/I-526 improvements and Maybank Highway improvements.

The Bees Ferry Road project will include several changes to the existing road. The majority of the road will become a four-lane road with left and right turn lanes at many intersections. From the intersection West Ashley Circle to the intersection with Grand Oaks Boulevard, Bees Ferry will expand to six lanes.

The widening project also will add a 10-foot wide bicycle and pedestrian multi-use path along the west side of Bees Ferry Road and a five-foot wide sidewalk along the east side. The multi-use path will tie into the existing multi-use path along Ashley River Road.

At the other end of Bees Ferry Road the project will re-align the intersection with Savannah Highway to a 90-degree T-intersection. That will require the existing intersection of the two roads to move east approximately 1,500 feet closer to the intersection of Savannah Highway and Main Road. The new intersection with Savannah Highway will also feature a "free-flow" right turn lane for southbound traffic.

From Savannah Highway to the intersection with Glen McConnell Parkway, crews will install a landscaped median. Additionally, the project will include improved road and off-site drainage capacity with new drainage boxes, larger drain pipes and water quality structures to remove debris and pollutants before storm water runoff is released. Curbs and gutters will be installed along the road to feed into the new drainage systems and ditches along the road will be cleared as well, according to road officials.

Back at the Ashley River Road intersection, crews will add two left-turn lanes for northbound traffic headed toward Summerville.

Bees Ferry Road will also get a new, longer and wider bridge over the Church Creek Canal that includes bicycle and pedestrian accommodations.

The project also includes changes to some traffic lights along Bees Ferry Road. Signals at the intersections with Ashley River Road, Glenn McConnell Parkway, West Ashley Circle, and Main Road/Hunt Club Run will be replaced with decorative mast-arm poles complete with pedestrian walk/stop signals to improve crosswalk safety.

Finally, the county crews will be working around several grand oaks located within the construction zone to preserve the trees.