Lowcountry Headlines

Lowcountry Headlines

 

$200K project to replace pipes under street, prevent collapse was approved

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston City Council unanimously voted to approve a $200,000 project designed to prevent a West Ashley street from collapsing.

The vote was held Tuesday night, according to city spokesman Jack O’Toole.

“The pipe system under Lord Calvert is failing,” city project manager Frank Newham said earlier on Tuesday. “Pipe failures could lead to road failure or driveway failures in the future, so this is to get a little proactive and getting ahead of that by replacing those pipes now."

Lord Calvert Drive sits just off Savannah Highway in West Ashley, and residents, like Ronald Swann, have been concerned about the recent findings.

“No one wants to drive out of their driveway, turn on to the street and it runs out from under you," Swann said. "I think it’s a good project and money well spent.”

Once it begins, the project, with a $198,000 construction contract with Gulf Stream Construction Company, will take about a month to complete now that council has voted to approve it.

The project itself will require the street and more than a dozen driveways to be torn up, so crews can replace the pipes below before sinkholes can form.

“This is one that was identified in a study. We had a video done of the pipe, and we determined it needed immediate replacement," Newham said. But it’s not the only project the city is working on. This is one of many in West Ashley and downtown the city is trying to get ahead of.

“We’re looking at, most people know about, the Church Creek Basin," Newham said. “We’re looking at the east side. We’ve got other project identified downtown. It’s just a matter of funding these and giving them priority, so we can move forward.”

The exact timeline for the project has not yet been determined.

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