County Hears from All Sides on 526 Question

Whether I-526 will ever be completed has been one of the long unanswered questions in the Charleston area.

By next Thursday the residents of Charleston County may be closer to an answer. Charleston County Council will vote on a proposal offered by the City of Charleston that would allow the city to take over the project and see it through to completion.

Council members saw the City's presentation Tuesday night, along with a presentation from the Nix526 group and one from County staff outlining what the traffic could look like on Charleston roads in two decades depending on whether the road is completed (all of the presentations have been included with this article). S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell also sent a letter, co-signed by Reps. Leon Stavrinakis and Peter McCoy, urging the County not to balk at finishing the roadway.

No vote was taken Tuesday night, but the County Council is scheduled to revisit the City's proposal on Dec. 13 and decide whether to turn the project over to the city. Charleston City Council voted 11-2 last month in favor of the plan to take over to completion of 526.