First Week of School and Highway 165 | Commentary | Summerville Journal Scene

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First Week of School and Highway 165

Published Tuesday, August 23, 2011 5:15 PM

By Jay Byars
Summerville Journal Scene ®

After our first meeting of Council in January, I presented Council with a gift. It was a calendar, created by Despair, Inc. Inside were 12 months of discouraging quotes, historical facts of ineptitude, and beautiful pictures to match the depressing quotes: all with one goal, which can be summed up in their corporate slogan: “Increasing Success by Lowering Expectations”. Brilliant!!! (The company has basically made a fortune making fun of motivational posters with serene pictures by selling the opposite.)

For January I picked a satirical theme that would set the tone for the year:

(Picture of US Capitol Building with title “GOVERNMENT”) GOVERNMENT: If you think the problems we create are bad, just wait until you see our solutions.

As a limited government guy and a self-appointed connoisseur of satire, that is sadly pretty darn funny to me, yet somehow true to many people, especially the higher up one evaluates government. Well as a former teacher and government employee, and now a private business person serving in elected office, it is nice to be able to see all sides of an argument. There are many times government does a great job.

One such instance was this past week as the first day of school in our county. I personally attended Beech Hill Elementary to take my little girl Katie Jo to her first day of school and thought it went very well indeed. Many parents, students, and teachers all had a great day and made memories for a lifetime all over our county. This was our first year taking our child to BHES, as last year she attended Flowertown Elementary and had a great year. However, my wife Amber teaches at Beech Hill, and we decided it was much more practical to have her with mom at school. That said, I experienced a sobering reminder of something many folks in the county may not realize: traffic going out to BHES and ARHS in the mornings (and afternoons coming back) is abhorrent.

As I have previously mentioned in this column, several key road projects are being diligently addressed through our One Cent Sales Tax and DCTA. Dorchester Road construction has started. Bacon’s Bridge Road will be going out to bid later this year. However, we have a problem, and have had this problem for some time. The section of Highway 165 from Legend Oaks to ARHS is not included in the project list for One Cent Tax funds. The road is dangerous, and has been a priority for me and this Council, as well as many others to get improved. Collaborating with Dorchester Two, Dorchester County Transportation Commission, DCTA, and Dorchester County, and working with 50% matching funds from SCDOT, a plan has been identified for improving the road from Carolinian Drive to ARHS from the current substandard and unsafe two lane sections to three lanes. Currently the lanes are only 9’ wide in places and have no shoulder. This is unacceptable for a road with so many young drivers driving to and from school daily with zero margin for error. One mistake and they are in a deep ditch, opposing lane, or woods. The project calls for putting in a three lane road with 12’ wide lanes, a continuous turning lane, two feet of paved shoulder with four feet of grass shoulder as well as guardrails at key locations. To get an idea of what the improved road would be similar to, ride down Old Fort Drive now. That road is safe and rides beautifully.

The problem has always been funding and who will pay for the project. Well it’s time to step up to the plate and hit a tough pitch. That’s why folks elect you to serve in office. Dorchester County and District Two agreed to each contribute $1.25M to get the money necessary to qualify for the 50% matching funds from the SCDOT grant funds. The minimum qualifying project cost is to be $5M so the SCDOT grant will pay the other $2.5M. This is a very practical solution and far more affordable and timely for our County than building a five lane road for $10-12M. Working collaboratively with public and private entities, we have found a way for our community to leverage our dollars and fund a priority project for safety of everyone on that road. The grant should be awarded in October and if so, construction could begin early in 2012 with completion within a year. That road has been and will continue to be a priority for me and others and I want to thank everyone involved in helping work towards a solution. Harry Truman said it nicely: “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t care who gets the credit.”

A parting thought keeping in line with the Despair calendar: (Picture of a small snowball rolling down mountain) TEAMWORK: A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction. (But not on this project. If you want a good laugh and don’t take yourself too seriously, go check out their website: www.despair.com)

Thank you for the privilege and honor of serving you as your County Councilman. I am only one voice of seven, but we are all elected to serve Dorchester County. Please contact me anytime: byarsj@gmail.com; facebook.com/councilmanjaybyars; 843-324-6732; or attend “Biscuits with Byars” and chew the fat with me the first Wednesday of each month 7:30-8:30 AM at Hardee’s in Oakbrook. Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you.

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