I-526 impact

The state's preferred route for the half-billion-dollar Mark Clark Expressway project would slice off a section of a popular county park, increase noise levels for people in 134 structures and affect more than 100 acres of wetlands, according to the new study describing the project's impact on the area's environment.

The route, however, would not significantly affect air quality or endangered species.

Under federal law, a large-scale public project such as a new highway typically requires an environmental impact statement -- an in-depth analysis on its effects on the community.

These analyses typically contain thousands of pages, and the Mark Clark study is no exception. Posted online at www.scdot.org/I526, the study examines everything from the number of wood storks that might be harmed to noise levels.

The state Transportation Department released the draft Wednesday for the public to review. Citizens groups were still going through the document Thursday, but some said at first glance the study minimizes the project's direct and indirect effects and fails to properly analyze alternatives to building the new highway leg.

"We're taking a hard look at the whole document," said Chris DeScherer, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. "This project will affect the way the region grows over the next 10 or

20 years, so this is important."

Among the study's findings:

-- The highway would clip off the northern end of James Island County Park in the area where the county currently has its climbing wall, about 19 acres of public recreational space in all.

-- The route would affect 88 acres of saltwater wetlands and 18 acres of freshwater wetlands, requiring 4.5 miles of bridging over these areas and the filling of about 17.4 acres.

-- Noise for some residents would increase from quiet urban levels (40 to 50 decibels) to levels akin to an air conditioner (greater than 60 decibels). For some, noise levels would be equivalent to the sound of a lawn mower.

-- In all, people in eight apartment structures, 66 homes, 43 businesses, one church, six hotels, four shipping centers and six other buildings would experience an increase in noise. The impact statement did not identify how many people in these structures would be affected.

The Transportation Department focused on seven routes in all and recommended one that follows the northern boundary of James Island County Park as the least expensive and intrusive of the group. The state estimated the cost of the route at $489 million. Twenty-two homes and four businesses would be moved.

The publication of the draft environmental impact statement often marks the escalation of the debate over a controversial building project. The studies sometimes contain new information that gives the public a better idea of the project's scope. Agencies that fail to do a complete job, meanwhile, can be challenged in court.

Kate Parks, program director for the Coastal Conservation League, said the study should not have eliminated the group's proposal, which called for extending existing streets to improve traffic flow, and that it failed to examine how the highway would affect development patterns on Johns Island and traffic flow in downtown Charleston.

"You can see the backup that already exists when the James Island connector merges with Calhoun Street. Putting more people on the connector will only increase that. We've said it today, yesterday, and we'll say it tomorrow: For $489 million, the quality of life benefits of this project are just not there."

Reach Tony Bartelme at 937-5554 or tbartelme@postandcourier.com.