Highway 41 Corridor Improvements — town consent granted July 14, 2026

Administered by Charleston County (Charleston County Transportation Development), not the Town. Published scope on the official project site: widen the existing roadway to four lanes from Clements Ferry Road to Dunes West Boulevard/Rivertowne Parkway, expand to three lanes through the Phillips Community, and widen again to four lanes from Bessemer Road/Joe Rouse Road to Highway 17 — the '4-3-4' configuration — plus Laurel Hill Parkway, a new two-lane local connection road from Highway 41 to Park West Boulevard. Figures placed on the record by the County's consulting engineer at the Mount Pleasant Town Council meeting of July 14, 2026: total project cost $245 million, described as the largest infrastructure investment in the Town's history; $15 million already spent; $63 million committed from the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank (STIB); 171 parcels of right of way being acquired with zero total takes (no homes demolished); the County is not currently in compliance with its STIB agreement due to a missed construction start deadline and has requested an extension without response; nine years of work, more than 200 meetings, more than 7,300 public comments, and evaluation of over 20 alternatives; the 4-3-4 design without Laurel Hill Parkway was modeled to fail within five to seven years of opening at level of service E or F; Laurel Hill Parkway is projected to carry about 12,000 vehicles per day by 2045 and would affect 10 acres of the 741-acre Laurel Hill County Park and 2 acres of wetlands; the project is projected to operate at level of service D in 2045. Growth context given: Dunes West, Park West and Carolina Park added nearly 3,500 homes in the past ten years, and roughly 12,000 new homes are projected for the area with about 25% of those trips using Highway 41; approximately 30% of the Town's population lives in the affected corridor. COUNCIL ACTION JULY 14, 2026: a motion to deny municipal consent for permits or approvals to tie into Town right of way for Laurel Hill Parkway FAILED 5-4. A motion to grant consent for the Highway 41 improvement project as currently designed, and to direct Town staff to review project permit requests in accordance with Town ordinances, policies and standards, PASSED 5-4 (Mayor Haynie and Council Members Tinkey, Whitaker, Chapman and Crosby in favor; Council Members Iacofano, Rambo, Brownstein and Hyatt opposed).