Seabrook Mayor Ron Ciancio delved into the subjects of Johns Island Roads and town road drainage in a presentation to the Council of Villa Associations and Regimes (COVAR) meeting on Saturday, March 12, in the Lake House.
Mayor Ciancio detailed the results of a recent meeting with SCDOT District Engineer Robert Clark regarding deficiencies in Bohicket and Main Roads, which are part of the official hurricane evacuation route for Seabrook and Kiawah Islands.
The SCDOT has undertaken some recent improvements to the drainage system along Bohicket Road, including clearing ditches and replacing some damaged drainage pipes. As is widely known by now, Main Road at the approach to the Limehouse Bridge has been raised 6 inches in response to the severe flooding of last October.
At the insistence of the Charleston County Board, plans for the proposed controversial “supersteet” intersection at Main and Savannah Highway have been shelved. Until a source of funds to construct a grade separation (aka “flyover”) becomes available, the SCDOT is undertaking no other actions at this juncture to improve the intersection.
The SCDOT has agreed to undertake a “safety audit” of Bohicket and Main Roads. The elements of this study have yet to be specified. Mayor Ciancio noted that traffic counts for Main-Bohicket-Kerrison average 12,000 vehicles per day. Approximately 1000 accidents have occurred over a five-year period, with 50% of those involving personal injury. The Mayor cited a past independent study that claimed that Main-Bohicket was the sixth most dangerous road in the State.
The Mayor noted that many of the tree hazard signs on Bohicket are covered with dirt and mildew, thus reducing their visibility and effectiveness. Additionally, many driveway entrances on Bohicket are flanked by excessive vegetative growth that reduces visibility. He noted his intention to press the SCDOT to take corrective actions to eliminate these deficiencies.
The Mayor took time to describe an upcoming drainage project on the Seabrook Island Parkway between the gate and traffic circle. Traveling outbound from the Island, there are three drainage pipe systems on the left (marsh) side of the road and a french drain system on the right (bikeway) side.
A recent professional assessment revealed that 50% of the pipe system on the marsh side of the road has been compromised due to clogging with sand and debris. Additionally, flapper gates meant to prevent the intrusion of tidewaters are not functioning. On the bikeway side, the french drain system is essentially ineffective. These circumstances likely contributed significantly to roadway flooding that blocked access off the Island during parts of the record rain event in October, 2015.
Accordingly, the Town is hiring an engineering firm to develop plans to correct these deficiencies. This is expected to be a 3-year project with total expected costs of approximately $800,000.
—Tidelines Editor
We are hugely in need for our political leadership of S.I., Kiawah Island, and Johns Island to put on a well coordinated, large and protracted push for a comprehensive solution to our road problems. I am very much of the opinion that the fly-over at Main Rd and 17, the completion of I 526, the widening to 4 lanes of Maybank between River Road and the Stono River Bridge, and turning River Road between Betsy Kerrison and Maybank into a 4 lane road similar to BK Parkway are all essential.
The deluge of early October, 2015 was so instructive and showed how cut off all of us can be from emergency medical services! LET’S HAVE A BIG PUSH over the next 3-5 years.