Mark Clark Expressway

In the Charleston area, the South Carolina Department of Transportation has proposed a seven-mile extension of Interstate 526—the Mark Clark Expressway—that would imperil wetlands, fragment wildlife habitat and cut through a rural community. Furthermore, transportation experts believe the road would exacerbate, rather than alleviate, congestion problems.

Meanwhile, at a time when SCDOT is facing one the worst funding crises in its history, the project would carry an estimated price tag of roughtly $490 million.

Fixing a Transportation Problem

At the root of local congestion problems is the lack of connection between existing streets and roads, without which drivers are forced onto major thoroughfares like Savannah Highway, for even simple errands, creating major bottlenecks. Improvements to the street network would:

• Cost less than half the estimated total for the four-lane interstate extension;
• Give local drivers more options to reach the places where they live, work and shop; and
• Relieve as much as half or more of the traffic on major roads.

As the environmental impact statement is prepared, SELC is urging SCDOT and the Federal Highway Administration to explore fully these and other options presented in "A New Way to Work," a plan developed by leading transportation experts that shows there are more efficient, less damaging, and far less costly ways to meet the area’s traffic challenges.

The “A New Way to Work” plan focuses on improving the lack of local connectivity amongst the existing road system, giving drivers more options for reaching their destination, thus relieving more than half the traffic on major roads as well as improving access to local businesses - all at a cost of less than half of the proposed four-lane interstate extension. The plan also calls for taking down highway flyovers that block out the marsh, bringing these roads to grade and opening up new waterfront green-space possibilities for communities such as West Ashley.