BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.—It took six years to complete; however, traffic is now moving along steadily on Highway 17A from Summerville to Moncks Corner. Once plagued by orange barrels, drivers won’t find them along this stretch of highway anymore.
On Monday, Berkeley Co. leaders gathered at Calvary Baptist Church in Moncks Corner to celebrate the road’s completion.
“This has been a dream for over 40 years,” stated Berkeley Co. Supervisor Dan Davis. “I know it may seem that it took a long time with all the permitting, but this project moved about as fast as any project could.”
In 2008, workers began transforming the road from a two-lane highway into a four-lane. Davis said that former state senator, William Helmley, was instrumental in making the project a reality.
“He first conceived this idea of a major road from here to Summerville and worked very diligently over the years to make that happen,” Davis added.
Not only is the commute up and down this portion of Highway 17A a more enjoyable one for drivers, county leaders stated the new and improved road will help save lives.
During the last five years, Berkeley County Coroner Bill Salisbury said that 17 people died on Highway 17A.
“We had six of those fatalities from Highway 6 to the Dorchester Co. line, and we had eleven from Moncks Corner to Jamestown,” stated Salisbury. “The statistics tell the story. A two-lane highway is deadlier than a four-way highway. I’m not in favor of a tax increase, but this is a tax that we definitely need.”
The funding for the road project was all made possible with the one-cent sales tax referendum. According to Davis, the tax is set to expire in May 2015. As a result, he says there is now a major effort to renew the referendum.
However, there is a slight problem. The county supervisor stated that a glitch in the law requires that municipalities let the referendum expire before it can be renewed.
“It doesn’t make sense,” he added during the event. “We’ve appealed to the common sense of our legislators.”
Davis said he now expects lawmakers to approve final reading of a bill that would change the current legislation of the referendum.
“We hope that the governor will be signing that bill later this week,” stated Davis.
Voters, he said, would then determine whether to keep the penny sales tax when they head to the polls in November.
“I think voters in Berkeley Co. see what we can do with the program, and I feel very confident they’ll vote for it.
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