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NORTH CHARLESTON — At the request of Berkeley County officials, Charleston Area
Transportation Study (CHATS) leadership recently voted to allocate $9 million in future
funding to the Clement Ferry Road Phase II project.

The additional money is needed to cover estimated increases in construction costs, according to county Supervisor Johnny Cribb. While all available CHATS dollars through 2022 have been spoken for, unobligated funds from fiscal year 2023 will be available, in time to be applied before the projects completion.

The CHATS policy committee unanimously approved study and Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments Executive Director Ron Mitchum’s recommendation to have staff identify the money for the 2023 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Mitchum said the action would provide a reasonable assurance of funding availability to the County, SCDOT and FHWA, allowing the project to move forward.

Construction on Clements Ferry Road Phase II, which stretches from Jack Primus Road to S.C. Highway 41, is expected to begin in early 2020, with an anticipated completion of spring 2023.

BCDCOG is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) responsible for carrying out the urban transportation planning process for CHATS.

The primary responsibilities of any MPO are to develop:

  • A Long Range Transportation Plan, which is, at a minimum, a 25-year
    transportation vision for the metropolitan area
  • A Transportation Improvement Program, which is the agreed-upon list of
    specific projects for which federal funds are anticipated
  • A Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), which identifies in a single
    document the annual transportation planning activities that are to be undertaken in
    support of the goals, objectives and actions established in the Long Range
    Transportation Plan.

CHATS is governed by a Policy Committee Board representing governmental and transportation-related organizations from throughout its coverage area.