GOOD NEWS: Ashley River bridge project underway for next 6 weeks

Artist’s rendition of bike/walkway project. From Charleston County.

Staff reports  |  Construction started Friday on a bike/pedestrian project on the Ashley River bridge that will allow officials to test whether a bike-walk lane will work as commuters travel between downtown and West Ashley.

The project, which will last about 45 days, will consist of constructing a new dedicated left turn lane on the U.S. Highway 17 Northbound exit ramp to Lockwood Drive and Bee Street. Phase two will include the temporary lane closure of the far right northbound lane of the Ashley River Bridge for testing to measure the actual traffic impact and confirm the findings of the previously completed traffic study. Phase two is expected to start once construction is completed on phase one.

Expect some shoulder closures on the Lockwood Drive ramp during daytime hours. At night, there may be some lane closures there. To keep up with what’s happening, head to this website for updates.

In other good news:

• Boundless energy. The College of Charleston’s BOUNDLESS campaign has surpassed its $125 million goal. The campaign, the largest fundraising and engagement initiative in the College’s 246-year history, has raised more than $127 million since the beginning of its effort in October 2009. “It’s an amazing achievement and an important milestone,” President Glenn F. McConnell said. “Of the nearly 23,000 investors that have helped us reach this goal, their impact is realized in areas such as our academic and athletics programs, scholarships, faculty positions, capital projects and student opportunities.”
• Plantation life. Magnolia Plantation and Gardens on Feb. 20 will host four storytellers with blacksmith, cooking and brickmaking demonstrations that will showcase life on a Southern plantation before and after the end of chattel slavery. Following the demonstrations, award-winning television actress and storyteller Natalie Daise will guide an audience through the development of Araminta Ross as she became the iconic abolitionist and Union Army spy known as Harriet Tubman. Daise’s 60-minute performance, “Becoming Harriet Tubman” at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 20 in the Carriage House, will be a fundraiser for Charleston’s proposed International African American Museum. Seating is limited. Send a request for tickets to this free event to Herb Frazier at mailto:Frazierh@aol.com.

“Life Before and After Freedom” will be held 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, at the restored cabins that once housed enslaved workers who helped design and maintain Magnolia’s gardens and later were garden guides following the Civil War. More info: http://www.magnoliaplantation.com.

• Public Wi-Fi at Riverfront. North Charleston’s Riverfront Park on the Cooper River now has public Wi-Fi access. It’s the ninth deployment of access by the Charleston Digital Corridor Foundation’s Charleston Free Wi-Fi initiative. “With existing events at the park and others planned, the 100mb public Wi-Fi service will enable event organizers to have a smooth and seamless use of the network for their internal operations,” said Riverfront Park Manager, Lisa Reynolds.