Harbor View plan faces opposition

Rush-hour commutes can be lengthy and frustrating, but from stretches of Harbor View Road, the view of Charleston Harbor, the city skyline and Ravenel Bridge is phenomenal.

The scenery, however, is not enough to keep many James Island residents from seeking relief from traffic congestion.

Charleston County RoadWise is putting the final touches on an $18 million plan for upgrading Harbor View Road from Fort Johnson Road to the James Island Creek bridge. The plan, more than two years in the making, calls for adding a turn lane down the center of the roadway, and for new exit and entrance lanes at busy intersections, plus additional sidewalks and bicycle lanes.

RoadWise is the county's management program for the construction of roads and highways, resurfacing, paving and drainage projects that are funded by the half-cent sales tax.

Not everyone is happy with the Harbor View plan. In fact, some who use the busy road are angry about it. The town of James Island is considering, but has not yet voted on, a motion to oppose the widening of Harbor View.

Garrett Milliken, James Island town Board of Zoning Appeals chairman, said that when voters approved the half-cent sales tax that will help fund the project, they didn't choose road widening.

"What we voted for was 'improvements,' " Milliken insisted. He contended the Harbor View project will attract new development and make matters worse.

He argued the road project "spends a whole lot of money we don't have. It's being forced down our throats."

Widening Harbor View only up to the two-lane James Island Creek bridge will create a "bottleneck" as the wider road is pared down to two, he added. "Will we get a better flow? No."

"You could make it nine lanes (wide) and Harbor View would still end up with the same problem," James Island Councilman Leonard Blank said. "It's time for the town to make a stand. This is not an improvement."

He added that proposed changes will benefit developers, not commuters. "We are taking Harbor View Road and making it attractive for further development."

Councilman Joe Qualey challenged critics of the road plan to try the morning commute. "I sit in traffic for 15 minutes going nowhere," he said.

Mayor Mary Clark said she and many town residents oppose the RoadWise plan. Petitions are being circulated, she said.

Jim Armstrong, RoadWise director of transportation development, said the project has been thoroughly reviewed in, and after, a series of public hearings that began in 2006.

"We had a lot of public input. The plan is about as good as we are going to get it," he said.

Armstrong said the only places where Harbor View will be four lanes wide is at the intersections where new exit and entrance lanes are created. The project will make the highway safer and easier to travel, he said, while conceding that rush-hour commuters will face problems when they get to the two-lane bridge.

Money's not available now for widening the bridge, but it's conceivable that it could be in the future, he said. Also in the future, he said, are changes to ramps on the James Island expressway that could make its use easier for travelers on Harbor View Road.

Construction is to begin next year, using $14 million in federal funds and $4 million from half-cent sales taxes.

Meanwhile, he said, the process of identifying and contacting owners of about 120 properties where the state will need to acquire narrow strips of land has begun. No structures will be taken, he said.

Reach Edward C. Fennell at efennell@postandcourier.com or 937-5560.