The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has begun a safety improvement project along a 1-mile portion of Dorchester Road, from State Park Road to Parlor Drive.
The $1.9 million project is federally funded by the Highway Safety Improvement Program to strategically identify and improve high-crash locations. SCDOT's partners on this project include the Federal Highway Administration, Stantec engineering firm, Dorchester County, the Town of Summerville, Summerville Police Department and the SC Highway Patrol.
From 2015 to 2019, there were 710 crashes, an average of 3 per week, within the project location. Of these, there were 134 crashes with injuries, about 3 per month.
Key features of the project include installing a 5-inch raised concrete median to reduce crashes by limiting areas where drivers can make left turns; updating timings at the traffic signals; new pavement markings; improving the corner of the Dorchester Road/State Park Road, Dorchester Road/Old Trolley Road, and Dorchester Road/Ladson Road intersections to accommodate U-turns by passenger vehicles (not big trucks or buses); adding a concrete island at Dorchester Road/Old Trolley Road to improve traffic flow; and upgrading crosswalks and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ramps.
Most of the work requiring lane closures will be at done at night. The completion date is Sept. 30, 2021.
A general timeline for the project is as follows, weather permitting:
• June 2021 - Work to begin on constructing landscaped median areas on Dorchester Road. Utility relocations should be nearing completion. Corner widening to begin at State Park Road.
• July 2021- Trolley Road intersection work. Installation of pedestrian ramps to begin.
• August 2021 - Ladson Road intersection work. Installation of pedestrian ramps at Parlor Drive to begin.
• September 2021 - Begin asphalt replacement and installation of concrete median, followed by pavement markings and new signs.
