There just might be a solution to the long impasse over extending the Berlin G. Myers Parkway, Summerville Mayor Bill Collins said.

Collins spoke Thursday after leaving a meeting in the office of S.C. Transportation Secretary Robert St. Onge that was attended by representatives from S.C. DOT, FEMA, the Federal Highway Administration, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Dorchester County Transportation Authority, the Charleston Area Transportation Study (CHATS), Dorchester County and Rep. Jenny Horne.

“I feel positive about what came out of the meeting,” Collins said.

The mayor said all parties agreed that “no-build is not an option.”

Extending the parkway from its current dead-end at East Carolina Avenue all the way to U.S. 17-A has been planned for years.

Permitting problems, however, have kept the extension confined to the planning stages. Public meetings a few years ago indicated that building the road would require filling in about 15 acres of wetlands near the Sawmill Branch canal.

Road builders must obtain permits from the Corps showing they’ve mitigated the effects on wetlands and flood control measures.

Horne said the biggest concern has been mitigating the floodplain impacts.

“The best, most economical option for mitigating the impacts the road will have in the floodplain will be to widen part of the Sawmill Branch,” Collins said.

Widening the canal, originally built in the early 1970s, would allow it to handle greater flows so that fewer homes would potentially be affected by flooding.

Widening would add to the cost of the project, but officials won’t know by how much until an engineering report is completed.

Collins said he believes additional funding can be obtained for the project that’s already estimated to cost about $56 million.

Randy Williamson, DOT’s environmental engineer, said DOT will be doing the engineering study. He couldn’t yet give a timeline for when it might be complete.

But, he said Thursday’s meeting was positive.

“All the agencies are working together now,” he said.

Both Collins and Horne commended St. Onge for having his staff brainstorm options and for calling the meeting with all stakeholders.

“I’m very appreciative of Secretary St. Onge’s leadership,” Horne said. 

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