Traffic safety targeted on Clements Ferry Road

With construction set to begin as early as next month on the first phase of the Clements Ferry Road widening initiative, a number of government entities are navigating ways to ease traffic congestion both before and during the project.

Charleston City Councilman Gary White has been working with several city departments, as well as Berkeley County and S.C. Department of Transportation (DOT) officials, to address frustrations expressed by drivers on the busy roadway.

“Traffic on Clements Ferry is a tremendous challenge,” noted White. “And it will only get more challenging as construction gets underway. I am very grateful that the City, County and State have all come together to work collectively to address this issue and improve safety for residents who have to travel on this stretch of road every day.”

The last official tally of vehicles using the stretch, collected by the DOT in 2015, shows an average annual daily traffic count of 25,700 for the area between Jack Primus Road and St. Thomas Island Drive. In 2001, that same section of Clements Ferry Road logged an average of 12,200 vehicles a day.

According to the Berkeley County government website, the first phase of construction is expected to cost approximately $35 million and will focus on a 4.35-mile stretch of Clements Ferry Road between I-526 and Jack Primus Road. The project, which is being managed by the DOT, will widen the road from two lanes to five lanes, with a raised planted median and a multi-use recreational path.

At White’s request, several entities conducted site investigations of conditions on Clements Ferry Road to identify opportunities for improvement. The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) has been engaged in discussions with White, Berkeley County Councilman Josh Whitley, and others in coming up with a traffic mitigation plan to begin addressing problems now, before construction starts. The BCSO has put additional deputies on the scene during peak times to conduct traffic enforcement – targeting those who are employing unsafe practices, such as driving down the median or passing on the right, said Sheriff Duane Lewis.

“It’s our goal to keep the accidents and injuries down out there,” continued Lewis. “I know that it’s frustrating for the residents over there. Until some major changes are made, our involvement is we’re just trying to make the best of a bad situation.”

“We have a lot of folks we know on that end of the county,” added Deputy Mike Cochran. “We’ve been getting a barrage of (traffic) complaints...Our bottom line is, we’re the Sheriff’s Office and people look to us for help and we’re there doing what we can.”

Sheriff Lewis said his office has not necessarily noticed an increase in issues – it’s more of a continuation of problems.

“When we step up enforcement, people pay attention, and they follow the law and the rules of the highway,” he added. “If we’re not there, that kind of activity does seem to occur. We can’t be there 24 hours a day, but we are targeting the area at those times when traffic is most congested.”

The City of Charleston Police Department has also increased patrols during the morning and evening peak rush hour periods, noted White, and City Traffic & Transportation Department staff members have been engaged in mitigation discussions as well.

According to Sarah Gaffney, SCDOT construction engineer, lane delineators have been installed near Marina Drive on Clements Ferry Road to deter people from turning into traffic and to eliminate “dangerous maneuvering.” They have also put up speed boards to make drivers aware of their speeds and to encourage them to slow down, she said.

“Everybody is onboard trying to figure out what we can do,” Gaffney added. “...We want to make it safe not only for the traveling public, but also for the workers themselves. So we need the community to be mindful of that.”

Construction contractors are ready to get started on preliminary work, continued Gaffney, but have no specific date for beginning that process. She expects things will get underway in mid-March. Once work is initiated, it will be done in shifts.

“They will build one side first and then shift traffic and do the other side,” said Gaffney. “It shouldn’t be too disruptive to traffic flow.”

Any lane closures or notices related to the project will be posted through the DOT-managed 511 South Carolina Traffic App, which residents can access through their smartphones. And once construction is in progress, the S.C. Highway Patrol will provide officer coverage in work zones through their S.I.T. program (Safety Improvement Team).

Construction on Phase 1 is expected to be completed in the fall of 2019, at which time Phase 2 should begin. That portion of the project, to be managed by Berkeley County, extends from Jack Primus Road to Highway 41 and should be finished by 2021, according to a Berkeley County webpage set up on the initiative. For additional information on both phases of the project, visit https://www.berkeleycountysc.gov/drupal/ engineering/onecent.