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Well technically the airport is about a decade ahead of projected disembarkments.
Yeah, I see where they aren't even finished with this addition, yet they are looking at future plans to expand again in the furture due to rapid growth.
Now that's what I call planning for the future, something other government agencies around here need to do. *hint* (city, county and scdmv).
Maybe they should take the $56 million they're going to spend on raising Main Rd towards completing 526 which fixes a lot more issues than one road.
It's a great idea to put an overpass at Main Rd & 17. It's a mess there everyday for those turning onto Johns Island.
It would greatly help, but we can't forget about 526! They need to do both!! I will pay a bit more in gas tax, I don't care. They also can use the 1/2 county tax we approved years ago, where is that money now?!
Yeah, I see River Road is blocked again today because of the storm. That's twice in one month, But the folks over there still don't want I-526 to come to John's Island.
Yeah, I see River Road is blocked again today because of the storm. That's twice in one month, But the folks over there still don't want I-526 to come to John's Island.
More of a tornado than a storm but ya.... also to the overpass the money for that is expected to come from I-526. Also you know what would help people get onto John's island more than an overpass? Another way onto the island.
Maybe they should take the $56 million they're going to spend on raising Main Rd towards completing 526 which fixes a lot more issues than one road.
Assuming a $600m price tag, which is guaranteed to be higher if and when they ever build it, your $56m is still less than 10% of that total. You could fix 26 and 526, take on a comprehensive approach to traffic problems on James and Johns Islands that does more than simply encourage more sprawl, and probably STILL have some left over to do point remediation at some of the most frustrating intersections in the metro (Rivers/Remount, Rivers/Ashley Phosphate...to name two that could benefit from grade separation).
The only thing 526 will accomplish is transporting people to even worse gridlock faster than they currently can get to it using existing roads. Honestly, what will a new highway solve when the two potential destinations are the 26/526 interchange (can it handle more cars, seriously?) and the ramps at Lockwood/Calhoun (can they handle more cars, seriously?). Are people seriously this shortsighted that they cannot see that the fundamental problems will persist even if there's a fancy new highway in between? It's like saying Calhoun St is congested between King and Meeting so we should pave over half of Marion Square to add more lanes.
If anything, the citizens need more options. Rail is expensive, but Bus Rapid Transit is a much cheaper option that could have the potential to be very popular in Charleston. I'm a huge cycling advocate but I will concede that if we are going to take away lanes of traffic or reconfigure a road like Folly, it should be to incorporate BRT over bicycles. With a true BRT system you could have buses running in an express lane during rush hour on roads like Folly, 17 in West Ashley, Dorchester Road, Meeting/Rivers, etc. If some people are going to continue to believe that more roads are the solution to the suffocating traffic problems, they will be free to continue to sit in traffic and wait for each successive road project over the decades to come, believing each will be the holy grail that suddenly solves all problems. But at least the rest of us will have a more efficient option, using existing thoroughfares, and using modes of transit that have proven incredibly successful in nearly every developed nation in the world except our own.
Even an HOV lane on 26 would be an improvement if it could bypass the 526 interchange, similar to I-77 north of Charlotte, at least if people continue to elect to drive there will be an incentive to carpool as they watch traffic buzzing by in the HOV lane while they sit alone in their car inching along.It's common sense folks.
[quote=coastalbum;41164335If people sat for 3 hours like last week in a hurricane we would have many dead from not being to leave Charleston. Doesn't this show how Evacuation Routes for Hurricane would be if we were hit with Cat 4 or 5, many would die it seems.
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If there is a Cat 4 or 5 bearing down and folks are just leaving in the 3 hours before it makes landfall, I really have little sympathy.
That's not to say a rebuild of this intersection is sorely needed, but a new highway is only going to get you to 26/526 faster, do you really think you wouldn't spend at least 3 hours waiting your turn to get on 26WB?
That's part of the risk you inherit moving to the coast, should they also build 6 lane highways to every beach town and barrier island on the east coast so people can evacuate just as the storm is making landfall? Wouldn't it be more prudent to address existing bottlenecks so they can more adequately handle a surge of evacuees, instead of building new roads that only lead to existing bottlenecks? Do we just keep pouring billions into new roads when even the most built out cities in the country still face gridlock?
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