Neighbors raise concerns over changes to busy Mt. Pleasant interchange

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) – Neighbors are pushing back against some proposed changes to a busy intersection in Mount Pleasant, where tens of thousands of cars and semitrailers pass through each day.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation said they want to improve the Interstate 526/Long Point Road Interchange’s efficiency to handle future demand.

Project Director Joy Riley gave a presentation Monday morning before a packed room of neighbors during a meeting of Mount Pleasant’s Transportation Committee.

Riley said four of the proposed six alternatives will go through a more in-depth analysis.

Neighbors raised concerns about two of those four alternatives because a separate off ramp would be built for port access, possibly taking away some homes and adding traffic and noise to their neighborhood.

Public comment for the interchange project wrapped up on Sept. 1, when crews received several hundred comments.

Riley said crews will be taking those comments into account as they move forward.

“We pretty much put everything on the table,” Riley said. “These alternatives have risen to the top because they actually fix the problem, so from this point, we probably wouldn’t add new alternatives unless something comes to light that we haven’t looked at before. We would refine them at this point to make them better and address the community’s concerns.”

Riley estimates the project will cost somewhere around $150 million to build out, but a potential completion date is still unclear.

Click here to check out the alternatives DOT has proposed for this interchange.

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