Boat landing under I-526 faces another delay
Construction of the planned boat landing under the Wando Bridge has been delayed, again. This time, the hold-up was caused by the South Carolina Department of Transportation, who needs the land for a road project on I-526, which stands directly above the area where the boat landing and its vehicle parking lot would sit.
At the moment, the time frame that the $1.4 million boat landing will begin construction is undecided.
Andrew Wicker of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) Engineering Office clarified the size of the site’s parking, “Of the proposed designs that I’ve seen, it will accommodate roughly 60 boats. Could be more or less based off final design.”
The news is disappointing for some and a surprise to the residents that didn’t even know about the planned boat landing. Adding to both sentiments, a Daniel Island boat landing has been talked about since 2005, when City of Charleston officials said that a ramp would be a part of Governors Park.
In 2013, The Daniel Island News reported that plans for a boat ramp would be submitted to the Architectural Review Board in spring 2014. At the time, the SCDNR was working with the city on the final design and planned construction.
Three years after that report, an update was distributed that assured the boat landing was continuing ahead. City of Charleston Councilman Gary White stated in 2016 that permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and SCDNR had been approved.
The Councilman discussed the delays in a little more detail in a letter to the editor that same year. “The City’s legal department is currently reviewing the draft funding agreement between the City and the Department of Natural Resources,” he wrote to The Daniel Island News. “It is anticipated this agreement will be ready to move forward for a vote at the July 19th City Council meeting.”
In 2017, it was announced that the project hit a snag because SCDNR, who has to do the plan’s revisions, was inundated with work from Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
The final update since the recent statement of delay, came in 2018, when it was reported that the boat landing had secured its funding, but was not moving forward because of additional design work required by SCDNR.