Highway 41 Corridor Improvements (SC 41), Clements Ferry Road to US 17

Lead agency: Charleston County (Transportation Development / Public Works), in partnership with SCDOT. Adopted design, per the County's own project site (checked Sept 4, 2026): a "4-3-4 configuration" — four lanes from Clements Ferry Road to Dunes West Boulevard/Rivertowne Parkway, three lanes through the historic Phillips Community, four lanes from Bessemer Road/Joe Rouse Road to Highway 17. ALIGNMENT HISTORY: 15 alternatives were screened 2017-2021; earlier proposals (including Alternative 1, identified as the Proposed Alternative in Aug 2020) were abandoned. In August 2021 Charleston County Council voted 9-0 to advance the "Compromise Alternative" into design and permitting. That is what is being built. STATUS as of the County's site: final design and permitting. USACE permit application + Environmental Report submitted May 2023; SCDES critical area and Section 401 applications Dec 2023; both updated and resubmitted March 2025 to further reduce wetland impacts; SCDES NPDES-NOI updated November 2025. Final right-of-way plans approved July 2025; property acquisition and ROW staking underway along Highway 41, Winnowing Way, Dunes West Boulevard and Porchers Bluff Road. CONSTRUCTION DATE — SOURCES CONFLICT: the County's project site says "Quarter 4 2026" / "anticipated to begin in late 2026" (three separate places, checked Sept 4, 2026); the Post and Courier reported work could begin in early 2027. FUNDING: the County states the project is "solely funded by the Charleston County sales tax" with no US DOT money and no FHWA oversight — which is why no Section 4(f) evaluation was triggered for impacts to Laurel Hill County Park. The 2016 half-cent sales tax ordinance (#1907, adopted 8/9/16) names "SC 41 Improvements / US 17 to Wando Bridge" in its project list under a $1,890,000,000 roads-and-transit cap. COST: the County's official project website publishes NO project cost figure. Figures of $245 million and "nearly $250 million" were cited in news coverage of the July 2026 Town Council debate; treat those as reported, not published. WHAT CHANGES FOR A DRIVER: two lanes each way from the Wando bridge to Dunes West/Rivertowne; a single lane each way with a center turn lane/median through Phillips; two lanes each way from Joe Rouse to US 17; major rebuilds at 41/US 17, 41/Dunes West Blvd, and US 17/Winnowing Way-Porchers Bluff; new signals at 41/Winnowing Way and 41/Laurel Hill Parkway-Cardinal Hill; the Park West Boulevard roundabout relocated and rebuilt. The project also completes the Town's Gregorie Ferry Connector Road tying into Highway 41 at Colonnade, and extends Winnowing Way to Highway 41.