Work on I-26 soon could be disruptive
Construction crews moving to median; new plan has project ahead of schedule
It's show time on Interstate 26. And the show might be over sooner than you think.
The highway-widening project in North Charleston is moving into its very visible, most disruptive phase. Crews have begun to work in the median, where two new lanes and a barrier wall will be built in the next nine months or so.
The Post and Courier
A road to the new Remount Road overpass is under construction in the Interstate 26 widening project. Work also is about to begin on the Aviation Avenue overpass.
And over the next few months, the Aviation Avenue and Remount Road overpasses will be demolished and replaced by taller overpasses.
That means traffic is going to start to get funneled into single lanes and rerouted, sometimes on the interstate, and for a long time on the overpass roads.
The S.C. Transportation Department and U.S. Group, the construction company running the project, are working out details to speed up the project by doing the Aviation and Remount bridge work at the same time.
That could complete the entire project a few months ahead of schedule, maybe by the end of 2010 or earlier. The work had been scheduled to end in April 2011.
"That's the plan. On their schedule it looks like they should make it," said Tim Henderson, S.C. DOT district construction engineer.
U.S. Group is looking for approval to take apart the old overpasses section by section, using cranes to lift them overhead.
That would mean interstate traffic would not have to be detoured to Rivers Avenue, although late-night traffic may have to be stopped on the highway for 15-to-20 minutes at a time.
The overpass work also could close Remount Road at times, because a new overpass is being built there. Aviation Avenue traffic will be funneled to a single lane in both directions, but the plan calls for rerouting that traffic between old and new sections as the work is done, said Greg Cook, U.S. Group vice president.
The new schedule is similar to the same-work-at-the-same-time plans that helped complete the Arthur Ravenel Bridge ahead of schedule, Cook said.
The widening project work is being done largely at night, when traffic is at its lightest. Crews have had to adjust to the lighting and have run into a number of unforeseen snags with utility lines, power lines, pipes and — in one unexpected encounter — a jet fuel line to nearby Charleston International Airport.
The work is a three-year, $66 million project to widen the interstate to eight lanes along that three-mile stretch from Interstate 526 to Ashley Phosphate Road, where rush-hour traffic routinely jams.
Reach Bo Petersen at 937-5744 or bpetersen@postandcourier.com.
Earlier versions of this story incorrectly stated the original completion date of the project. The project had been scheduled to end in April 2011. The Post and Courier regrets the error.
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Comments
robeweise (anonymous) says...
"That could complete the entire project a few months ahead of schedule, maybe by the end of 2010 or earlier. The work had been scheduled to end in April 2111."
Is it really going to be that long or just feel like it?? Wow, a hundred year road project. Ouch.
February 27, 2009 at 5:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
Duh, that headline...don't you think that the verb "will" is a better fit than "could". I guess that, if you seldom travel that route, "could" could fit. However, if that is frequently your route, then "will" will be a better fit. I imagine that the majority of people do not travel that route frequently. Therefore, you are probably closer to appropriate with "could" than "will" in reflecting the sentiments of the majority. On the other hand, this article will have only a passing interest to those who do not frequently travel this way, and they will probably be in the minority of those who actually read it. Thus, the majority of people who read this are the ones who use the route frequently, and "will" is a better fit. Got that. It's going to be a weird day, I think.
This is probably not the best place to pick a fight.
February 27, 2009 at 6:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
suec (anonymous) says...
So what's up with the "pond" there at the Remount entrance to I-26? Was it intentional or just a low area that filled with water? I looks like thy have tried pumping it dry a few times.
February 27, 2009 at 8:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cpanther515 (anonymous) says...
This project will not be completed by 2012. They still have not completed the bridge over Ellis creek on Folly which has been going on for almost two years.
February 27, 2009 at 9:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
carlosthedwarf (anonymous) says...
You know, newspapers used to proofread their work. I believe that was back in 1911.
I-26 has had more work done than Michael Jackson and with the same results.
February 27, 2009 at 9:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wjhamilton3 (anonymous) says...
Each mile of one additional lane on this project has cost 11 million dollars, that is an Elementary school if you wish to count things that way.
This is the end for I-26. They can't add more lanes to large sections of it now due to a lack of right of way. The costs to purchase and tear down commercial properties for more asphalt will be prohibitively expensive and politically impossible.
If the SPA builds its N. Charleston shipping terminal and actually gets shipping lines to use it, while continuing to refuse to develop railroad service for it, this new capacity will be more than absorbed by additional truck traffic.
If the Lowcountry is to continue to sprawl inland in Dorchester and Berkeley County, the next option will have to be rail transit, an option those communities will need, but haven't planned for. Someone needs to be reserving space for park and ride lots and building a road network which connects people efficiently to the available rail corridors. We need to be locating employment in places also near potential rail transit service.
If the economy come back, gas costs will go up again. The world of plentiful asphalt, cheap gas and big, fast cars is never coming back. That deep oil and cold oil isn't going to be cheap.
February 27, 2009 at 12:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
charlestonnative1963 (anonymous) says...
TRAIN or some type of rail might have been more cost effective over time...but that would be inovative and we can't have that.
February 27, 2009 at 1:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wjhamilton3 (anonymous) says...
Rail will arrive when gas goes to five or six dollars in a lot of places. The question will be can Charleston fund the upfront cost which is huge. If it can't, it may simply not be able to compete for jobs, talent and investment. Areas which have transit will simple soak up whatever economic opportunities remain.
Our topography, with rivers, wetlands and the ocean means our transportation infrastructure has to be a lot more expensive than most places and we spread out over twice as fast for the same population.
It's all very pretty, but if we can't move people around to shopping, work, education and entertainment, the future will simply go somewhere else.
February 27, 2009 at 1:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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