www.morningnewsonline.com/midatlantic/scp/news.apx.-con -
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Published on: 8/30/2007
Last Visited: 8/31/2007
The 28-foot-wide overpass will expand to 107 feet, including a median lane, as well as turning and deceleration lanes, SCDOT project manager Michelle James said.About 9,000 vehicles, including beach traffic, travel through the interchange daily, and SCDOT expects the interchange to handle 16,000 vehicles a day by 2026.The department also will increase the radius of each loop ramp at the interchange."That's going to prevent overturning of trucks," James said.
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James said SCDOT officials will consider the comments from people who live and work in the area."We'll reconvene and try to come up with what will still be considered safe from a design standpoint," she said.The project has $12 million , about 60 percent of its estimated cost , in federal funds, James said.The overpass was built in 1971, but age is not a factor in the project, James said."The bridge is in good condition," she said."It's not structurally deficient or functionally obsolete."An environmental analysis and right-of-way preparations for the new roadways are the next steps in the project.SCDOT expects right-of-way acquisitions to begin in the spring.Construction could begin as early as winter 2009, James said.