Chimney Sweep in Mount Pleasant, SC

MOUNT PLEASANT — The price tag of a road widening project that has dragged along for years has ballooned by over $100 million.

The widening of S.C. Highway 41, funded by the 2016 transportation sales tax, has been in the works since 2017. The expansion will add two lanes to the highway from U.S. Highway 17 to Clements Ferry Road, doubling the number of lanes for most of the route.

In a transportation sales tax update at the March 6 Charleston County Council finance committee meeting, public works Director Eric Adams said the road projects the county is working on are on schedule. He said the county submitted right-of-way plans to the Army Corps of Engineers for the widening and expects to start construction in 2026.

The project was initially estimated to cost a little over $129 million in 2016 but has since gone up to $245 million.

Devri Detoma, county deputy public works director, said the dramatic increase in cost is largely due to inflation and impacts from COVID-19 pandemic. The project is still covered by the 2016 sales tax as well as funds from the S.C. Transportation Infrastructure Bank despite the rise in costs, Detoma said.

In addition to the price increasing, the timeline of the widening project has extended, partially due to the permitting process which can take years. Adams said during the March 6 meeting construction is often the shortest component of a road project.

While the permitting process is tedious, progress was also impacted by controversy, Detoma said.

The historic Phillips community sits on both sides of Highway 41. Previous plans called to widen the road two lanes to five, which would have made the road come much closer to homes in the community, which residents opposed.

The county held over 150 public meetings from 2017 to 2020 so residents and elected officials could figure out a compromise. Detoma said the back and forth with the public must have taken a year.

County Council voted unanimously in 2021 to adopt the plan the county is using now which adds two lanes, adds a center turn lane in the Phillips community, and the includes the construction of Laurel Hill Parkway, a two-lane road that will run through the outskirts of Laurel Hill County Park.

Not all residents are happy.

Travis Korson, vice president of the Park West Master Association, said the Park West the community is concerned about the the construction of the Laurel Hill Parkway. Not only would it run through Park West, but it would result in the loss of 12 acres of wetlands. Korson said this would worsen flooding conditions and harm endangered species.

But residents of Phillips community, like Richard Habersham, support the plans. He said the project will both help reduce traffic and make turns into Phillips safer with an added center turn lane.

The county is still meeting with residents who may be affected by the widening as they progress with the project, county public information officer Chloe Field said.

In the meantime, the county has made some interim improvements. Construction project manager Cal Oyer said a signal at the intersection of Joe Rouse Road and Highway 41 was updated to allow southbound traffic to flow freely except when a pedestrian is crossing, and a left turn lane was added from Joe Rouse Road to Highway 41.

Improvements were also made to the intersection of Highway 41 and U.S. Highway 17, by updating the timing of the signal, and restriping and reassigning the lanes to help traffic move more quickly, he said.

Oyer said officials estimate the project to be complete in 2030.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - Project leaders behind the Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park say that the park is finally nearing completion after experiencing some delays.

The project was supposed to be completed in September of last year, but after some setbacks, Mount Pleasant leaders are excited to announce they are working on the very final pieces and should be able to open the park in early May

Mount Pleasant Special Projects Manager Steve Gergick says that they have made significant progress in just the last month. Crews will be completing a major piece of the project on Thursday when construction workers will pour the last bit of concrete for the park’s splash pad, which will complete the major construction work of the project.

The concrete will require 30 days to cure before they have to put a final coat on which will also need some time to cure.

So far, they have made a lot of progress on the park, completing the two basketball and four pickleball courts as well as the quarter-mile walking trail. The park will also feature a dog park with accommodations for both small and large dogs, an outdoor fitness area featuring an obstacle course and a calisthenics fitness area, a small sensory area for children who may need some quiet time and a restroom facility, all of which have been completed.

The park will have many other features, including a structure showcasing a piece of the original Grace Memorial Bridge and a replica of the old water tower that used to stand in the Old Village will stand in the splash pad area. Town leaders say they are excited to get this $6,750,000 project complete as it has been in the works for four years now.

Gergick said the site of the park had been “just a big dirt area” under the bridge that was primarily used solely as an overflow parking lot.

“And this will still be used for overflow parking. You know, a lot of these features are strategically placed to allow cars to still park over here when there’s a big event here at the park, but it was just a big unused space and we were like, ‘Hey ‚let’s do something with that and make it a make it a good enjoyable park for the for the residents of Mount Pleasant,’” he said.

Gergick says that while the project took longer than expected, they just wanted to ensure that they had the best final result, and he thinks what they have come up with is going to be great.

“It’s going to be a great, great, great park for everybody and we’re excited about it and I know I get a lot of calls. I do get a lot of calls from people saying, ‘When is it going to come, when is it going to be happening?’” he says. “And then, you know, different groups calling me and asking when it’s going to be ready and I say, ‘We’re getting close, we’re getting close. We just need to make sure we get it right and do the right thing and deliver great product for the residents.’”

He says once they pour the concrete, they just have to finish some landscaping and final touch ups. He says they should have the construction completed by April and the park will officially be open by the beginning of May, so it will be ready to use this summer.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - A multi-million-dollar development project at Patriots Point that is planned to bring in hotels, residences, restaurants, office and retail space received initial approval for a specific zoning district and a five-year development agreement renewal.

The Charleston-based real estate developer Bennett Hospitality leases about 30 acres of property from the Patriots Point Development Authority. That leasing money goes towards maintaining the ships and aircraft located on Patriots Point.

Town officials say that the original zoning of the 30-acre section of land at Patriots Point is known as a waterfront gateway district, but on Tuesday night they approved the first reading for it to be changed to the Patriots Annex Planned Development District.

“We had an opportunity because that is the last piece of waterfront gateway in the town to convert to a planned development. The thing with the planned development is that it is a negotiated agreement with the developer and so there is an opportunity there to ensure that certain things the town wants to happen on this 30 acres, do indeed happen on the 30 acres,” Mount Pleasant Town Council Member Guang Ming Whitley says.

With the planned development district, the town is requesting some specific conditions for the project. These conditions were approved by the planning committee earlier this month before being brought to the council.

Some of the requested conditions include increasing the required amount of open or green space from 10 percent to 14 percent, capping the total number of residences at 80, restricting flat roofs, reducing the tree requirement from 160 trees per acre to 120 per acre, as well as reducing the building elevation closest to the waterfront from 50 feet to 35 feet.

James Wilson, a representative from Bennett’s Hospitality, spoke to the town council at Tuesday’s meeting expressing their willingness to collaborate with the town. However, Wilson requested some flexibility on the open space percentage in case an event required additional space but believed they could still meet the 14 percent goal, as well as some reconsideration of the residential unit number.

“This is a 30-acre project that will take time to develop. We’re eager to get busy on the first part and get busy on the waterfront and the first hotel as you know, but it will take time and so the current conceptual plan that we have, we need to preserve some flexibility in that. Everything is not going to be built you know later this year, so what we’ve shown you is a current plan, but there has got to be some flexibility,” Wilson says

During the meeting, it was said that the town council couldn’t make amendments during the first reading. However, when the ordinance is brought up again for its second and final reading next month, council members will have the opportunity to propose any changes.

“I think the town’s perspective is what we want to ensure is if this goes to a planned development is that we preserve what is important to the citizens of Mount Pleasant which is greenspace and trees,” Whitley says.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – A campaign meant to encourage support for local food spots backed by Mount Pleasant town officials has returned for the month of February.

The town of Mount Pleasant and the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce have teamed up for the 4th annual ‘Dine Where You Live’ campaign, which runs from Feb. 1 until Feb. 28.

A winner will receive a $50 gift card each week to dine at one of the participating businesses.

To enter, follow the chambers’ Instagram account @mtpchamber and like any ‘Dine Where You Live’ posts. Next, tag one of the participating restaurants you want to try and two friends you want to dine with on the post.

Here’s the list of participating businesses:

Restaurants

Abbracci Italian Cuisine & Cocktails

Big Bad Breakfast

Blues Coastal Bar & Grill

Bohemian Bull, Mt. Pleasant

Bon Banh Mi Southeast Asian Kitchen

Burtons Grill

Carolina Butcher & Beer Garden

Condado Tacos

Crush Yard

Dulce Churros Ice Cream and Specialty Cocktails

Eil’s Table

Migliori’s Pizzeria

MIX

Nothing Bundt Cakes

Philosophia

Playa Bowls Mt Pleasant

Ruby’s New York Style Bagels

Saltwater Cowboys

Shem Creek Crab House

Spice Palette Indian Cuisine

Sunsets

Tabbuli

Taverna Philosophia

Toast All Day

Beverages

Barrels and Bottles

For All the Tea in Charleston

Catering/Grocery

Dish and Design Catering

Duvall Catering & Events

Graze Craze

Hamby Catering Partners LLC

Heights Meat Market

Iacofano’s Catering & Events

Table and Twine

Top Shelf Catering Company

To enter as a participating business, click here.