Highway 17 (SC)
SCDOT moves forward with revised plan to widen Highway 17
After more than a decade of negotiations involving local officials, conservation groups and South Carolina Department of Transportation, a compromise may be in the works concerning the issue of widening 16 miles of Highway 17, a plan proposed by SCDOT in the early 1990s in effort to improve the road’s safety.
©Perry Pellechia
The proposed widening of HIghway 17 would have serious impacts on the surrounding coastal wetlands in the ACE Basin, an area known for its scenic beauty and outstanding natural resources.
SELC will not oppose SCDOT’s plan as long as the project’s permit includes certain conditions that will address the project’s secondary impacts and preserve the area’s natural habitats. Most importantly, SELC expects SCDOT to create 30 ft wide bike paths on each side of the highway and limit the potential for intensive development along the highway. These measures will help further SCDOT's purpose of increased safety while protecting the environment.
Prompting SELC’s opposition to the project, scores of acres of one of the nation’s most important conservation areas, including wetlands and endangered species habitats, were once at stake. SELC and other groups' advocacy led SCDOT to make efforts to redesign the project and reduce its direct impacts. The revised plan will affect approximately 55 acres of wetlands, a significant reduction from the initial plan that called for the destruction of about 110 acres.
