Ophthalmologist near James Island, SC

The long-awaited “northern pitchfork ” opened March 25 just in time for the afternoon rush — or, rather, slog — although city and county leaders say it is only a step in a lengthy process to solving Johns Island traffic woes.

“This pitchfork is one of the several initiatives we’re working on to help alleviate some of the traffic on the island,” said Charleston County Council Vice Chairwoman Jenny Costa Honeycutt, who represents much of Johns Island.

The new cut-through provides an alternate route for drivers coming onto the island from the Paul J. Gelegotis Bridge over the Stono River who need to turn right onto River Road. Drivers on Maybank Highway can now turn right at Fenwick Hall Allee, take the roundabout around the new apartments on Linger Longer Lane, and hop onto River Road just north of the congested intersection.

Those trying to bypass the light from River Road may have a tougher time figuring out where to turn left because the new road is unmarked. There is no timeline for the installation of a street sign, a county spokeswoman said.

The project, which cost $4.2 million, is part of multi-pronged response to the island’s booming population, county officials said. Other solutions, including a southern pitchfork and Mark Clark Extension, are still years away.

The “pitchfork” name came from the Paul J. Gelegotis Bridge forming the handle and the three planned connections to River Road forming the tines.

“This is not a victory lap,” said City Councilman Jim McBride, who also represents the area. “This is only the early stage of an ultra-marathon.”

Maybank Highway, one of two ways on or off the island, sees about 37,300 cars a day, according to daily average traffic counts from the S.C. Department of Transportation.

Much of that traffic is driven by the 50 percent increase in residents living on Johns Islands between 2010 and 2020. That’s some 8,000 new residents over a 10-year period. Road infrastructure did not keep up.

The interim corridor improvements aim to relieve congestion in Mount Pleasant until the final Highway 41 Corridor project is complete.

Construction for the first of these projects at the intersection of S.C. Highway 41 and U.S. Highway 17 began on May 13.

Charleston County awarded the $1.2 million bid to Truluck Construction in January for the work that encompasses sections of S.C. 41, U.S. 17, Joe Rouse Road and Dingle Road.

“The Town is excited that Charleston County has awarded the contract for the S.C. 41 Interim Improvements and are confident that these two intersection projects will improve traffic flow on the S.C. 41 corridor while the larger widening project continues to work through design," Mount Pleasant Deputy Director of Transportation James Aton said.

Roadwork around the intersection is expected to ramp up in the next two weeks.

Crews will begin installing left turn lanes at the intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 17 as well as widening the slip lane that turns right onto Highway 17.

The work will allow drivers to turn right onto Highway 17 "smoother, more safely and a little bit faster," Charleston County Project Manager Cal Oyer said.

As work progresses, the slip lane will close from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. during the week. Drivers can expect a detour onto the S.C.-41 Service Road during those hours.

Construction for the new turn lanes at the intersection will last roughly three months.

The Thurgood Marshall Center Trust, based in Washington, D.C., is partnering with Charleston’s International African American Museum, the National Action Network and Charity Missionary Baptist Church to commemorate the anniversary and pay tribute to the NAACP attorney who played a leading role in the decision — and in other anti-segregation cases during the 1940s and 1950s.

To do so, the groups will screen portions of the 1991 two-part TV miniseries “Separate But Equal,” starring Sidney Poitier and Burt Lancaster, 5-6 p.m. Thursday, May 16, at Charity Missionary Baptist Church, 1544 E. Montague Ave., North Charleston. The screening event will begin with opening remarks and conclude with a panel discussion.

Slated to participate on the panel are the Rev. Nelson Rivers III, Charity’s pastor; Benjamin Chavis Jr., former CEO of the NAACP and current leader of the National Newspaper Publishers Association; educator and Charleston County Councilman Henry Darby; and Michelle Simmons, chief academic officer of the Charleston County School District.

They will discuss the 1952 Briggs v. Elliott case, which was rooted in Summerton and Clarendon counties and was the first of five cases to challenge segregation in education, laying a South Carolina foundation for Brown v. Board thanks to the successful strategies of Marshall and the legal rationale of federal Judge J. Waties Waring.

The next day, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, May 17, at the International African American Museum, 14 Wharfside St., organizers will host a program titled “From Briggs to Brown: The Journey Towards Desegregated Education.”

A second panel consists of Orangeburg-based photographer Cecil Williams, who as a teenager took pictures of Marshall arriving in Charleston; Bobby Donaldson, associate professor of history and director of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at the University of South Carolina; and Sumter native and attorney James L. Felder, one the first African Americans elected to the South Carolina Legislature.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Crews are continuing to work to repair two major water main breaks that happened within a day of each other on James Island and in West Ashley.

Public Information Administrator for Charleston Water System Mike Saia says while the collapsed ground looks like a sinkhole, the damage didn’t happen that way in a technical sense. The damage to the ground and roads is from the strong water pressure when the water lines broke under the pressure. The water force caused the ground around the pipe to explode outward as opposed to sinking inward.

“Main breaks in the late part of the winter or early spring are really very common because the temperatures take wild swings with freezing one day, then they were in the 70s for a few days. After that what happens is that temperature change inside our mains really changed the structure of the pipe and to make it a little bit more brittle,” Saia says.

Saia says the water lines themselves were fixed quickly and based on the locations of the breaks, only a few customers were affected for a short time on Highway 61.

“Our main break for Fort Johnson Road was a 24-inch water main, a much bigger pipe with much bigger impact to the site and the road. But no customers were without water at any time because we were able to route the water from other means in the area and keep our customers in service at all times,” Saia says.

“It is likely Fort Johnson will be closed for at least several more days while all repairs are completed,” the town said in an updated post Sunday night. The post attributes the delay to expected rain it states will complicate the already extensive repairs to the broken water line.

Update - Water Main Break Repairs to the broken water transmission line on Fort Johnson and Jeffords near Folly are...

Posted by Town of James Island on Sunday, February 11, 2024

With water access and pipe structure handled, now their work turns to repairing the damaged roadways. Saia says on Highway 61 luckily one lane has remained open, and it is a smaller issue that can be fixed faster than the major break on James Island.

“Our crews responded immediately but when a 24-inch water main breaks, it creates a lot of devastation and a lot of destruction. And it took Fort Johnson completely out of service where it remains today. It’ll probably take us another two days, maybe even three to get the road restored,” Saia says.

Saia says Charleston Water System handles about 150 main breaks a year and these two are on the larger side of the average leak. He says crews are always on standby for this type of situation. He explains the cost of repairs is within the system’s regular budget.

“We’re able to handle all the street repairs on Highway 61 and will eventually bring a contractor in to do the final paving. But we are absolutely fully relying on a contractor to do the site remediation for Fort Johnson and because it’s such a very large area, actually contractors are going to do all the backfilling and all the paving throughout the remainder of the project,” Saia said.

James Island First Presbyterian Church sits at the corner of Fort Johnson and Jeffords Street. Despite the main break over the weekend, they were able to get their water running and a plan in place so Sunday Services went off without a hitch.

Mike Terelak, ruling elder on the Buildings and Grounds Committee for the church, says it was a team effort and he talked a lot with the Charleston Water System and SCDOT who helped them get through Sunday and make sure families have access to the child-care center this week.

“We had our annual Chili Cook-Off, which is a big event here. It raised a lot of money for James Island outreach and other missions that we run. And everybody came out, it was a big great time. We had a baptism, we have new members joining the church. So it was a really great day for our church and a little bit of mud wouldn’t have stopped that,” Terelak says.

Saia says since the roads are the Department of Transportation’s, he is in contact with officials there and everyone is collaborating toward a solution as fast as is possible. Saia asks that everyone who can, steer clear of Fort Johnson Road which he expects will be fully closed until at least Wednesday.

Charleston Water System will have a mobile board placed on Fort Johnson to direct drivers to turn onto Secessionville Road, the post states. Those closer to the site will see Charleston County Sheriff’s Office detour signs directing them around the sinkhole by way of Avenue A and then to Folly Road.

The post urged drivers to avoid the area if possible, suggesting Camp Road or Harbor View Road as alternate routes.

The Charleston Water System was able to divert water Saturday morning to ensure that homes in the area had working water. Anyone who does not have water service should call the Charleston Water System at 843-727-6800.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The site of a proposed preschool on James Island is causing some neighbors to worry about what their yards will look like during a storm or what the traffic will look like during rush hour.

The city of Charleston’s Design Review Board approved the basics, like what kind of building materials and plants the developer wants to use, for example, at the proposed Goddard Preschool located at 1137 Folly Rd., at Tuesday night’s meeting.

However, neighbor Matthew Pertuset says he’s more worried about what the city will review later on.

“How is that going to affect the, not just the people that back up, but the entire neighborhood?” Pertuset said.

The proposed preschool sits directly behind Pertuset’s home in the Queenborough neighborhood. He says he’s worried about the design of this building’s drainage because of how it already acts during storms.

“We’re already holding water,” Pertuset said. “So, for that to come up even more, I’m not sure. So, it’s a huge concern.”

But Robert Summerfield, the director of planning, preservation and sustainability for the city of Charleston, said because they have some of the most comprehensive stormwater regulations in the region, no project could make the problem worse but could only improve it.

“They’re working very hard to make sure that they are utilizing the existing wetlands on site and enhancing that as a stormwater catchment area,” Summerfield said.

But that’s not the only concern.

“If it is going to be a pickup, you know, we’re right here on Folly Road, how does that look during rush hour traffic in the mornings and the afternoons?” Pertuset said. “Is it going to get pushed into our neighborhood for us to deal with or is it just going to come to a stop on Folly Road?”

Summerfield said the city has already thought about it.

“We have created a drop-off low space so that cars, as they come in and drop their children off or pick them up, will actually flow through the site so that there’s a queueing situation that will occur so that people aren’t ideally not queueing out on Folly,” Summerfield said.

Neither the Goddard School nor the applicant, AAG Architects for Vista 26, LLC, have responded to requests for comment.

However, Pertuset said no matter what comes on this property, he just wants the city to be thorough with their plans.

“It is something that the community needs,” Pertuset said. “I think James Island could afford to have another preschool.”

Summerfield said the city will discuss more drainage specifics once the developer submits the next step to the Technical Review Committee. They will have to pass all initial designs before that is done and there’s currently no timeline of when that might take place.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Ten more schools will make their appeals on Wednesday.

School officials made their cases to the league’s executive committee, and can take their appeals to the league’s appellate panel later this week. A total of 22 schools statewide are lodging appeals with the executive committee.

Most of the appeals center around the SCHSL's decision to use a multiplier to determine student enrollments for its purposes, with students attending a school from outside of its assigned attendance zone counting three times. The multiplier was installed in an effort to address competitive-balance issues, with private and charter schools dominating state championships in lower classifications in recent years.

Three Charleston-area schools made their appeals on Tuesday.

James Island Charter, moved to Class AAAAA in reclassification, had its request to remain in AAAA denied. Burke, moved up to Class AA, had its appeal to remain in Class A denied.

Charleston Math & Science, moved up to Class AAA from Class A, won its appeal to remain in Class A for the next two years.

Bishop England, bumped up from Class AA to AAAA, will have its appeal to move to Class AAA heard on Wednesday.

Columbia's Gray Collegiate Academy, a sports-oriented charter school and a center of much of the competitive-balance debate, was bumped up two classifications, from AA to AAAA, by the league's multiplier. The school requested to play in Class AAA, but was denied by a vote of 12-3.

James Island officials made their case to remain AAAA by saying the school was willing to remain in Region 7-AAAA, which includes Colleton County and Beaufort-area schools. The school said it was willing to accept a considerable increase in travel expenses over what it would incur in a local AAAAA region.

Members of the committee noted that James Island’s attendance numbers, which total 1,968 including the multiplier, would place the school in Class AAAAA even without the multiplier, but only because the league has increased the number of AAAAA schools to 56.

After discussion, the committee voted 14-1 to deny the request to remain in AAAA.

Charleston Math & Science, which is currently in Class A, was reclassified to AAA by the league. The school, which is not competitive for state titles in most programs, hinted that a move to AAA could result in the school closing all of its athletics programs. School officials said the athletic department operates at a deficit as a Class A school.

According to the multiplier numbers, CMS would be the smallest school in AAA with 672 students, and would have almost 400 actual students fewer than two schools, Dillon and Newberry, just ahead of them in the AAA list.

The committee decided by a vote of 12-3 to allow CMS to remain in Class A for the next two years.

Burke appealed a move from Class A to AA based on a decline in competitiveness, even though its attendance numbers are solidly in Class AA even without the multiplier. Enrollment numbers, however, are in a steady decline; Burke's multiplier attendance number is 469.

The committee voted 14-1 to put Burke in Class AA. Burke could be reassigned to Class A in the next reclassification in 2026.

In other appeals on Tuesday, Abbeville High was denied (by 9-5) an appeal to be assigned to Class A. Abbeville is currently listed as the smallest AA school in the state (379 students with the multiplier), while three schools in Class A have larger attendance numbers. Abbeville will appeal the decision to the appellate panel.

Seneca High’s appeal to remain in Class AAA was denied (14-1), and the school will be assigned to AAAA.

Fox Creek won its appeal (by 11-3) to move to Class AAA. Fox Creek was originally bumped from Class AA to Class AAAA in the realignment.

Southside Christian, a private school in Simponsville, was denied (by 9-5) its appeal to move from Class AAA to AA. Southside Christian was moved from Class A to AAA in the recent reclassification with a multiplier attendance number of 676.

Brashier Middle College, a charter school in the upstate, was assigned to Class AAA, a move up from Class A. The school appealed to be classified to Class AA and the committee granted that request by a vote of 12-4.

High Point Academy, a Class A school in Spartanburg, was moved to Class AAA after use of the multiplier. The school appealed to stay in Class A, but was denied. However, the committee did vote to place the school into Class AA.

Horse Creek Academy of North Augusta, moving into the SCHSL for the first time, was classified to AAA. However, the school offers only 10 varsity sports and one junior varsity program, and does not field a football program. The committee voted to put the school in Class A.

St. Joseph’s Catholic School of Greenville, currently in Class A, was reclassified to Class AAA and requested to be placed in Class AA. The committee denied the request by 12-2.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - One concerned resident living on James Island says there is a lack of communication on a traffic project that was designed to improve the safety and flow of traffic.

The Central Park Road and Riverland Drive Intersection Improvements Project was made to improve the safety and traffic flow of Riverland Drive and Central Park Road for all modes of transportation while minimizing impacts on adjacent property and grand trees. The project officially began in 2018 and is still in the works.

More than 11,000 vehicles a day commute on Riverland Drive, according to the Charleston County Transportation Department, and the lack of turn lanes and significant delays have prompted a plan to relieve traffic congestion at the intersection of Riverland Drive and Central Park Road.

The need for more crosswalks, signs and designated areas, frequent accidents, narrow lanes and delays for school traffic are just a few reasons officials say the project is needed. The funding for the project comes from the second half-cent sales tax.

Eric Lundcrum lives on Terrabrook Lane on James Island and says the road hasn’t been upgraded and the growth continues to climb in the area.

Charleston County spokesperson Kelsey Barlow says the county intends to install crosswalks and a flashing light at the Central Park and Riverland intersection. The project will also add a right-turn lane with refuge on Central Park and a sidewalk along Riverland Drive that will extend to the future Woodland Shores sidewalk to the Riverland Drive multi-use path.

“We should have some consideration on completing some of these projects that are way overdue,” Lundcrum says. “The Charleston County Council is always 20 years behind upgrading infrastructure to satisfy the growth. The other solution was just to put a traffic light there, but they didn’t even do that. Year after year of more growth and year after year no solution to the very busy intersection.”

We reached out to officials from Charleston County who told us the South Carolina Department of Transportation has approved the right-of-way plans, and they are currently in the right-of-way acquisition process. They are scheduled to advertise construction in the third quarter of this year. Currently, officials say the project team has made contact with impacted property owners and working with them for the right-of-way acquisition process.

If you know a road that’s driving you crazy, you can submit your concern here.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.