Infrastructure white paper 2017 one pager internal print

INFRASTRUCTURE PRIORITIES To view full report please visit www.charlestonchamber.net/infrastructurepriorities

INFRASTRUCTURE VISIONING TASK FORCE July 2017

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College Park Road to Jedburg Road Palmetto Commerce Parkway

Berlin Myers Parkway - Phase 3 Highway 78 Widening

Red Bank Road

Palmetto Commerce Interchange

Airport Connector Road

I-526 Widening and 26/526 Interchange

Navy Base Intermodal Facility

Port Access Road

Church Creek Basin

I-26 Widening and Improvements

Glenn McConnell Parkway Extension Highway 17 and Main Road Grade Separation

Leatherman Terminal

Bus Rapid Transit

Mark Clark Expressway Completion

Sea Islands Greenway

Highway 41 Widening

Infrastructure Policy Principles • Infrastructure is essential to economic vitality • Infrastructure enhances quality of life • All modes of transportation are important to regional competitiveness • Continued need for all sources of funding and financing

Sweetgrass Basket Parkway Extension

Criteria For Project Selection These projects were carefully vetted and selected by the Chamber’s Infrastructure Visioning Task Force based on the following criteria: • Accommodate Anticipated Growth • Advocate for Feasible and Fundable Solutions • Enhance Region-wide Connectivity

Harbor Deepening

Priority Projects Map New Road Construction

Water Management

Existing Road Improvements

Future Needs

Freight Capacity Expansion

Off Map to North

Charleston's Infrastructure Imperatives The Charleston Metro Region is enjoying a parade of economic wins. While the economic forecast remains sunny, our infrastructure is an ominous cloud looming on the horizon.

Drive around our region and you’ll understand the urgency. Our existing infrastructure is not even meeting our current needs. There is no way it can handle our anticipated growth. The region must invest now to continue enjoying economic success tomorrow.

Roads Infrastructure means more than roads. But at this stage in the region’s development, road capacity is our dominant need. We have elevated 15 projects, both new roads and improvements to existing roads, as top priorities. Each priority project will: • Significantly improve congestion • Cut travel time for drivers Two stand above the rest in scale, scope and transformative impact: • Completion of the Mark Clark Expressway • Extension of the Glenn McConnell Parkway

FREIGHT To keep our manufacturing engine humming and our military missions supported, we must keep raw materials flowing in and finished product moving out. We must: • Complete harbor deepening • Enhance capacity at our port facilities

WATER We’ve done well prioritizing and completing drainage projects in recent years including Crosstown, Market Street, Calhoun West and Forest Acres. But every king tide or heavy rainfall reminds us that the need to move water is a fact of life. Current water management priorities include: • The Church Creek Basin

FUTURE NEEDS We must also keep an eye on the horizon and plan for a more walkable transit-oriented future, and better manage our infrastructure assets.

Alt I-26 Bus Rapid Transit: • Line connecting Summerville with downtown Charleston along the Rivers Avenue/King Street corridor Regional Smart Traffic Management System: • Leverages the latest data and systems to keep travel times predictable • Coordinates state and local agencies involved in incident response and traffic flow

NOW IS THE TIME We can’t afford to wait on these vital priorities. The region is adding jobs, increasing wages and providing residents an excellent quality of life. Continuing that momentum relies on infrastructure, and we’re lagging behind.

Elected leaders across the region have made prudent decisions to raise revenue for infrastructure through a sales tax. We need to ensure those dollars are invested wisely. We also need state and federal partners to invest alongside local leaders and provide necessary financing to move these projects forward.