2 weeks Ago
Tuesday's resounding defeat of Charleston County's proposal to extend the transportation sales tax — which voters rejected by more than a 3-2 margin — must mark the end of County Council's effort to extend the Mark Clark Expressway onto Johns and James islands. Council members knew the costly and destructive road project was unpopular among many county residents but plowed forward anyway with a referendum in which voters were asked to extend a half-percent sales tax that would raise $5.4 billion, about half of which, maybe much more, would have been spent on building the Mark Clark extension.
That's why they did not mention the project specifically in the ballot question, only in the ordinance approving the referendum. And it's why the dark-money-fueled campaign rarely if ever mentioned the project in its futile effort to convince voters to approve it. Instead, Citizens for Safe Roads offered only vague assurances that a "yes" vote would increase safety, reduce traffic congestion, improve transit and preserve greenspace.
Voters were wise to see through the strategy. It's important to recognize that even in the part of the county that presumably would benefit most from the road — James and Johns islands — the question was voted down in every single precinct, according to reporter David Slade. This $2.
3 billion (or more) extension of Interstate 526 from Citadel Mall onto Johns Island to the James Island connector at Folly Road is not listed as one of South Carolina's priority road projects . It should remain on the shelf at least until and unless it is ever made one. Tuesday's referendum result ought to shelve plans to extend Interstate 526, which would preserve this view of the Stono River.
It's important to recall the history. While 526 originally was envisioned as a ring connecting Mount Pleasant, North Charleston and West Ashley with James and Johns islands, the piece south of Savannah Highway was not deemed critical and was not built. When county voters approved the first transportation sales tax in 2004, a behind-the-scenes political deal was cut to use the county's leverage to win $420 million from the state to build the last leg to James Island.
But that never was enough money, opponents cried foul, and the controversy eventually led County Council to unwind the project. As those discussions unfolded, 526 opponents embarrassed and enraged then-council chairman Elliott Summey in 2016 by sharing a recording of him talking candidly about how he only pretended to support the extension, which he said “don’t make no damn sense.” Mr.
Summey reacted by leading negotiations to revive the project, striking a spectacularly bad deal for the county in which the state's contribution to the project would be capped at its original $420 million commitment and the county would cover the rest, including all legal costs and construction overruns. County voters only agreed to a half-percent transportation sales tax in 2016 after assurances that none of its proceeds would be used to extend 526. But shortly afterward, council members broke faith with voters by committing $75 million of those tax proceeds to continue 526 planning.
No wonder opponents of the newest tax proposal adopted the phrase, "Don't be fooled again." Indeed, with the ever-rising cost of road projects, it would not have been a surprise for the true cost of building the Mark Clark extension to top $3 billion, almost all of which the county would have to pay. Council members should talk with state officials to see if they can redirect what is left of the state's $420 million pledge to needed projects within the county, as that pledge was made in recognition that county taxpayers are paying to improve many state roads that the state normally would have to pay for.
The original tax remains in effect until 2027, so this week's defeat won't change Charleston County's sales tax. As a result, pro-526 council members had suggested that if this referendum effort failed, they simply would put the same proposal before voters again in two years. It would be beyond foolish to think that pro-526 forces and their allies on council could flip tens of thousands of votes in two years.
But Charleston County's roads need work, and extending this half-cent sales tax is the logical way to pay for it. Their only realistic, let alone responsible, option is to abandon 526 and start over with a new plan that divvies up the $5.4 billion among other projects.
We'll talk in coming days about some ideas for what the project list might include; clearly, smaller-scale improvements to Johns Island's road network should be part of any such list. The idea of extending 526 south of Savannah Highway has been alive, then dead, then resurrected years ago with a new nickname: the "zombie project." Tuesday's vote should be recognized for what it is: a fatal blow delivered by county voters.
Click here for more opinion content from The Post and Courier..
