Charleston County prepares bid for Fort Johnson Rd intersection improvements
JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Intersection improvements are expected to move forward for Fort Johnson Road and Camp Road on James Island.
Charleston County plans to add a roundabout to the dangerous intersection as officials cited there have been 38 accidents since 2020. This is one of four projects the county hopes to begin construction on. Multiple agencies including the City of Charleston, the Town of James Island, and the South Carolina Department of Transportation deemed the spot as a priority due to dangers it presents.
“You have two roads, Camp Road and Stone Post Road. They’re not quite as busy, the speeds tend to be a little bit higher on Fort Johnson. I think when once you’re coming off Camp Road, the line of sight isn’t as good so it’s harder to get out there and cross at the intersection,” John Martin, the construction project manager, said. “So, all these factors kind of made it a little more dangerous, and traffic, of course, has been increasing so much throughout the Charleston area.”
This project is fully-funded by the 2016 transportation sales tax, which is also when this intersection was identified as a necessary project. Several studies and public information meetings have been conducted since then. However, the mayor said residents continue to look forward to any updates on these improvements.
“We are so excited this project is finally coming to fruition. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It has been such a dangerous intersection. There’s been so many accidents, lives lost, just a very dangerous intersection. We’re looking forward to the roundabout and great improvement,” Brook Lyon, mayor of James Island, said.
Over the years, the county project team came up with several possible traffic patterns. However, they decided the urban roundabout was the recommended option as it poses the best solution for traffic and environmental impacts.
“That’s the best design that will keep the intersection safe and have the least amount of impact to grand trees – cultural resources. There’s some stone monuments there and also thinking of properties. We want to find a good design that would balance all those things and make the intersection safe,” said Martin.
The county is preparing to advertise the bid to contractors as they hope to begin construction soon. The bid includes the additional intersection project on Fort Johnson Road and Secessionville Road, to make it most appealing to contractors in the next couple months.
Construction is estimated to take two years.
