Charleston County to start Glen McConnell Parkway widening project

Listen to this article

Anyone living near Bees Ferry Road in West Ashley knows the nightmare of traveling Glenn McConnell Parkway toward Interstate 526 in the morning, slogging back home bumper-to-bumper in the evening. A 5-mile commute can become a long drive as thousands of cars stop and go.

Charleston County thinks they have a plan that will provide some relief.

Starting March 1, construction will begin on the Glenn McConnell Parkway Widening Project. The improvements will expand the four-lane road to six, starting west of Magwood Drive through the intersection of Glenn McConnell Parkway and Bees Ferry Road, the county said in a news release.

Charleston County said all work requiring lane closures will happen at night with advanced notice.

Beyond lane expansion, plans call for adding another stoplight at Essex Farms Drive, the entrance to the Harmony at West Ashley apartments, and upgrades to three existing intersections, the county said.

A 10-foot-wide muti-use pedestrian and bicycle path will be installed adjacent to the parkway’s east-bound lanes and will connect to existing sidewalks at Bees Ferry Road and Magwood Drive.

Plans further call for multi-modal improvements, including creating seven bus stops with shelters and bus pull-outs, roadway draining modifications and improvements, and updated landscape and irrigation systems along the corridor.

The Glenn McConnell Widening Project design has gone through two rounds public meetings. One session on Dec. 3, 2018, and another on Jan. 29, 2020. Both the S.C. Department of Transportation and the city of Charleston approved the plan.

The project will be funded by the 2016 Charleston County Transportation Sales Tax and managed by Charleston County Public Works.