SCDOT Puts Completion of I-526 In Charleston County's Hands

It wasn’t as crowded as I-526 during rush hour, but Conference Room 306 in the SCDOT building was packed on Wednesday. Media and other interested parties filled the room and neighboring hallways to hear the SCDOT Commission discuss the I-526 project.

Last week, the Commission had called a meeting to vote on what role, if any, the SCDOT would play in the much talked-about completion of I-526. On Wednesday, the Commission voted unanimously to turn responsibility for completion of the project—which is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars—back to Charleston County Council.

The issue has sharply divided the Lowcountry, with political leaders like House Speaker Bobby Harrell and Charleston Mayor Joe Riley coming out in favor of the project while State Sen. Larry Grooms (R – Berkeley) has been opposed to it.

Commission Chair Eddie Adams expressed disappointment during his official remarks that the SCDOT had even been involved in the dispute. “This about politics,” Adams said. “There’s no reason for us to be sitting here.”

Grooms was in attendance and in the public comment portion of the meeting said, “I don’t want (the I-526 project) to die, but the Charleston County Council has to step up.”

Riley was also among the spectators but left without commenting or speaking to the media.

One person, Joe Hodapp of West Ashley, thinks not all options have been considered, and that’s the idea that an investment in the public transportation might be the solution to the Lowcountry’s growing traffic issues. Hodapp realizes money needs to be spent wisely, which is all the more reason to consider a public transportation expense as part of a long-term solution.

“My concern is that money will be borrowed to build roadways that will be obsolete by the time they’re finished,” Hodapp said. Hodapp pointed to other growing areas like Austin, TX and Charlotte that have effectively used public-private partnerships to include mass transit as a transportation option.

Grooms, who previously had called for the Commission to be dissolved, commended the group for its action on Wednesday.

“This was about the rules and setting procedure and not whether or not this project should continue,” Grooms said. “Everyone needs to be on the same playing field and for the Commission to step in would have been unprecedented.”