Post Tagged with: "526"

FOCUS, Palm: I-526 extension is a zombie highway project

FOCUS, Palm: I-526 extension is a zombie highway project

By Fred Palm, contributing editor  |  The S.C. State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) last week voted no  (4-3) again on continuing the contract for completing the I-526 extension (I-526X) in Charleston County.  On Friday,  the county threatened a lawsuit, claiming the SIB couldn’t pull out of the project that would connect West Ashley to Johns Island and end on James Island, traversing the Stono River over the adjacent swamp-wetlands.

While the final costs of this addition have not been nailed down, it would be the most expensive highway expansion ever built in South Carolina. This is a big deal.

by · 07/02/2018 · Comments are Disabled · Common Good, Views
Photo courtesy of Charleston International Airport.

7/2, full issue: Zombie highway; Gubernatorial politics; Fireworks

IN THIS ISSUE   |  July 2, 2018  

FOCUS, Palm: I-526 extension is a zombie highway project
COMMENTARY, Brack: Age, Trump will drive fall gubernatorial election
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Titan Termite & Pest Control
GOOD NEWS: Busy airport, teacher pay hike, book drive
WHAT WE LOVE: Tell us what you love about the Lowcountry
FEEDBACK:  City on a Hill commentary draws reactions
MYSTERY PHOTO:  Something is under construction, but what?
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA:  Elmore v. Rice
CALENDAR, July 2+:  Lots of activities for your Fourth of July

by · 07/02/2018 · Comments are Disabled · Full issue
FOCUS:  Interstate 526 completion isn’t actionable plan, but smoky scheme

FOCUS:  Interstate 526 completion isn’t actionable plan, but smoky scheme

By Fred Palm, contributing columnist |  Charleston County’s new plan to finish I-526 remains secret but includes recent half-cent sales tax money. Seemingly, we should not care about nor want to know the details of this plan that has yet to find a financing source in the county budget. Smoky at best.

There is just some number – let’s call it “$X” — developed years ago given as the “estimated” cost. This number, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, has been repeated enough times that it seems to be true.  $X has never been worked up by a reputable engineering firm. $X has not been adjusted for years of inflation. $X has never been bid out thus lacks the market’s reaction. $X is pushed by the current crop of elected leaders for inexplicable reasons with ill-defined benefits, and to whom.

by · 04/09/2018 · 1 comment · Common Good, Views
PALM: Time to take sea-level rise, I-526 planning more seriously

PALM: Time to take sea-level rise, I-526 planning more seriously

By Fred Palm, special to Charleston Currents  |  The Union of Concerned Scientists study headlined in in the July 12, 2017, edition of The Post and Courier points to a need to act on factoring sea level rise into the county’s long-range capital plan and beyond its present horizon.

Palm
The foundation of Charleston’s present and future economy and the elements identified in the Charleston County Comprehensive Plan rests on water as many of the county’s other challenges — traffic, housing affordability, balancing a thriving tourism industry with a high quality of life, economic development etc. — is directly and indirectly affected by flooding, storm surge and in our future, varying estimates of sea level rise.

BRACK:  If I were King for a Day …

BRACK: If I were King for a Day …

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Sometimes the way to clarify where you stand on something is to stretch your brain with the game, “If I were King for a Day, I would ____” and then fill in the blank.

If I were King of the City of Charleston, I would:

* Stop construction of hotels.
* Build the bike lane.
* Build more affordable housing.
* Elevate the Crosstown.
* Transform Citadel Mall into a destination.

by · 03/13/2017 · 1 comment · Andy Brack, Views