CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - On Monday, Charleston County and James Island officials brought up a proposal to potentially widen or replace the Dr. Julian Thomas Buxton Jr. Bridge near Harbor View Road.
The discussion originally came up in 2015 when officials decided on the Harbor View Road Improvement project.
The purpose of that project was to improve traffic flow and safety on that road.
Officials discussed potentially widening or replacing the Buxton bridge because of the traffic build-up that occurs on Harbor View and the James Island connector because of the bridge bottleneck.
James Island Public Service District Commissioner Eugene Platt brought the item forward again at Monday’s intergovernmental meeting.
Platt said, “It’s so unfortunate that with the Harborview road improvement, that it could not be extended just a few more miles to the connector.”
James Island Town Councilman Leonard Blank said officials originally didn’t move on with the project because it would cost around $47 million. He said it would also be too difficult to complete.
“You cannot widen that causeway, you got to build a bridge all the way from North Shore,” said Blank.
People who live near the bridge say traffic is terrible in the morning and near the evening.
A big problem for that area also seems to be speeding.
Harbor View Road is a state-owned road, but officials say there’s an application that’s been sent to the county and the state infrastructure bank for this project. And they’re waiting to hear back before moving forward with any decisions.
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