The Ben Road paving project is slated to start next week. It should be completed in about six weeks.
The project is being funded 50% using Town funds and 50% with Transportation Sales Tax funds. These monies are from the 1/2 cent sales tax.
Each year, the Town and other municipalities may request local transportation projects be funded from the 1/2 cent sales tax. These projects are rated, and the best are funded. Providing matching funds improves the rating. Charleston County manages the 1/2 sales tax program, and all projects must be approved by County Council.
In 2013, the Town made paving Ben road our first priority and Town Council voted to provide a 50% match of Town funds.
Most of Ben Road had sufficient right-of-way dedicated to the public many years ago. However, the portion past the curve where it connects to Honeyhill Road did not. The first Town accepted Ben Road for public maintenance in the nineties, but after the first Town was closed, Charleston County did not recognize that action. (Perhaps they didn't know.) In 2011, the Town Council voted to accept the straight, constructed portion of Ben Road for public maintenance. When the Town was closed later that year, this was recognized by Charleston County.
The Ben Road project involved obtaining the right of way for the portion of Ben Road past the curve that connects to Honeyhill Road and also constructing the remainder of the road that ends in a cul-de-sac. Charleston County public works obtained the extra right-of-way and completed all the plans. The Town accepted the remainder of Ben Road for public maintenance. The construction contract was approved by County Council.
When the Town approved the Ben Road project, residents from Jeffrey and Lemontree came to Town Hall asking that their road be paved too. I promised that their roads would be next. The problem was that unlike Ben Road, those roads had not been dedicated to the public. The Town asked that Jeffrey and Lemonstree continue to be part of the Charleston County nonstandard road program, which seeks resident approval for continued public maintenance.
Each year municipalities may request funding from CTC. These are state funds distributed by the Charleston County Transportation Committee. The Committee is appointed by the state legislative delegation.
By 2014, the right-of-way on Jeffrey and Lemontree had been obtained. (Thank you Charleston County Public Works!)
The Town made paving Jeffrey and Lemontree Roads our first priority for CTC funds. Town Council approved a 50% match of Town funds for the project.
We found out that the Charleston County Transportation Committee was going to reject our request and instead fund sidewalks on Jerdone and Stiles drive. The Town had requested design work for that sidewalk in 2013, and CTC wanted to fund the construction of the sidewalk. Since the Town was planning to pay for that anyway, that wasn't a problem, but I wanted to get Jeffrey and Lemontree started. I went to the Transportation Committee meeting and offered to provide Town funds for a 50% match of the sidewalk project too. I asked that they approve the Jeffrey and Lemontree project. They did.
The Town accepted Lemontree and Jeffrey Road for public maintenance last fall.
Usually the permitting for these projects takes a long time, but Charleston County Public Works has managed to get it done very fast. They are hoping that the firm doing the construction work on Ben Road will also bid on Lemontree and Jeffrey and do both, one right after the other. Since they will already be there, they are likely to be the lower bidder. Of course, it is by sealed bid, and so some other firm might win the contract.
IF the same firm does both roads, then both projects could be finished by the end of July. Regardless, it is very likely that Jeffrey and Lemontree will be paved by the end of the summer.
Finally!
No comments:
Post a Comment