Transportation Official: Have 'Faith and Patience' on Commute

Thirty-three months from now, Dorchester Road commuters should have an easier go during their morning and afternoon drive. That's the goal behind the $21 million improvement project that broke ground this morning. 

According to County Councilman Larry Hargett, who spoke at today's event, 34,000 vehicles travel the road daily. 

"(The improvement project) won't be long," Dorchester County Sales Tax Transportation Authority Chairman Marshall Murdaugh said. He praised commuters' current "faith and patience," and asked that everyone keep the "faith and patience" through the next two-and-a-half years until Nov. 20, 2013.

Vice Chairman Mark Pilgrim said the project is "pretty quick for the a project of this scope — and given the weather we're having today, I wish them well." 

By the 9 a.m. ceremony, traffic had swelled along the roadway and the day's heat was starting to set.

The project will extend nearly 6 miles along Dorchester Road, from 17-A to Trolley Road. It will realign and improve the intersection at 17-A. It will also widen the road from two to five lanes with four-foot paved and six-foot grass shoulders from 17-A to Orangeburg Road. From Oak Drive to Trolley Road, the widening will include five lanes, curb and gutter, and a 10-foot multi-use sidewalk on the north side of the road.

The project is primarily funded through the county's participation in the One-Cent Sales Tax, with a portion of the funds matched from federal dollars. It was originally slated as a two-phase project, but the federal funds — $8 million — allowed the project to done in one phase, according to Pilgrim.

"It's taken us almost seven years to get where we are," Pilgrim said. Pilgrim said the authority has completed or is in the works of 17 of the 22 projects it has pinpointed. "This one, being the largest and most complex, has taken the most time." 

For more information on the current road projects, click here.