The price tag for the long-planned extension of the Mark Clark Expressway from West Ashley across Johns Island to James Island has suddenly tripled.

The S.C. Department of Transportation’s new construction estimate is a whopping $2.35 billion — or more than three times the projected cost when it was last calculated in 2015.

The impact on Charleston County would be dramatic and those in charge have expressed concern the future of the road plan is in doubt.

“I don’t know if people are going to have an appetite for it,” said Council Chairman Teddie Pryor. “Where are we going to get the extra money from?”

With the state’s share of the cost capped at $420 million, Charleston County had expected to contribute about $305 million to the project under the previous $725 million estimate.

Now, the county’s share would be more than $1.9 billion.

“We’ll wait to see how the county responds,” said state Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall. “Our recommendation remains ... to proceed with preliminary activity on the project and get to the point where it would be shovel-ready.”

In a letter to the county April 25, Hall said DOT is asking the county and the state Transportation Infrastructure Bank Board for approval to spend $150 million for ongoing work to make the road plan ready for bids. The county would pay half that amount.

Beyond that, the highway department wants to county to demonstrate “a reasonable financial approach to the entire project.”

Pryor said the County Council will discuss the issue when it meets at a regularly scheduled meeting at 5 p.m. today, April 26. He said the county would likely need federal assistance, new taxes, or both, in order to fund such a project.

The county and the state have each spent about $12.5 million on the project so far, he said.

“The longer this thing is delayed, the more it’s going to cost,” said Pryor.

Hall said one reason the cost has gone up so much is the soaring price of real estate in Charleston County. Acquiring the land needed for the road would cost an estimated $261 million, she said.

The DOT estimate assumes construction could begin in 2028, and also assumes there would be two or three years of litigation before that.

If completed, there would be a highway loop around Charleston, with the interstate running from Mount Pleasant across Daniel Island, North Charleston and West Ashley, then becoming more of a parkway across Johns Island and connecting to the James Island Connector on James Island.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) – How many times have you driven past Chick-Fil-A and seen a line of cars wrapped around the drive-thru line?

This seems to be the case with a location on James Island, and Chick-Fil-A has submitted a variance request to expand the property.

During the breakfast or lunch rush, Folly Road near the Chick-Fil-A can turn into a parking lot.

Bo Grimes lives down the street, and says six days a week, it’s the same story.

”People like myself actually trying to go to work or things like that, are being blocked by the actual line of the customers,” he says. “It’s like you’re getting stuck in the line. It’s like you’re waiting in line for something you’re not going to buy.”

Chick-Fil-A is trying to help with traffic flow and the drive through line and has filed a “variance request” with the town of James Island to remove trees around the property, and add on for a double drive-thru.

Mikell Fosberry has seen the traffic headaches, and says if the expansion helps with the congestion, he supports the construction.

“I trust Chick-Fil-A. They usually do a pretty good job of keeping the traffic moving at a lot of their locations,” he says.

Not everyone is thrilled. In the Facebook group “Save James Island”, some people posted comments about the preservation of the trees. One person posted “I enjoy Chick-Fil-A as much as anyone else, but I’d like to preserve the integrity of our island more than I need a chicken nugget.”

Another posted "James Island has the prettiest CFA in Charleston--beautifully landscaped with MANY pretty trees. Please do not ruin it!"

The request still has to be approved before construction can begin, but Grimes wants to see something done to get the cars through the line.

“I guess I just notice the traffic blockage more than I noticed the trees.”

We reached out to Chick-Fil-A to find out more about their request. A spokesperson said in a statement:

“Chick-fil-A planted 11 of the 12 trees proposed for removal at the James Island restaurant when it opened 16 years ago. We’re committed to being a good neighbor in James Island and are working on plans to help minimize any future traffic impacts. As part of this we would also replace any trees, including one already damaged by lightning.”

The zoning request will be considered during a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting Tuesday night. You have until 12 p.m. on Tuesday to submit a comment.

The Town invites the public to submit comments on this case prior to the meeting via email to kcrane@jamesislandsc.us referencing Case #3-22-028 and #3-22-029.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Detectives are investigating suspicious circumstances surrounding a fire that destroyed a historic hotel on Mosquito Beach Friday.

Deputies responded to the fire Friday at approximately 3:30 p.m. in the 2200 block of Mosquito Beach where a former hotel was on fire, an incident report states. The building was the former Pine Tree Hotel which served African Americans during segregation.

Sheriff’s office spokesman Andrew Knapp said witnesses’ statements indicating “a suspicious nature” of the fire led them to assign detectives to investigate.

The incident report states investigators also found footprints around the building.

While they are continuing to examine the scene and follow leads, Knapp said they have not yet determined whether the fire was intentionally set.

The Pine Tree Hotel was built in 1962 to provide accommodations primarily for African American tourists coming to Mosquito Beach, according to the Historic Charleston Foundation.

“At that time, it was during the Jim Crow era of the American South. Folly Beach was segregated it was whites only,” HCF Properties Manager Justin Schwebler said. “African Americans really needed places where they could go and recreate along the coast and Mosquito Beach was one of those places.”

The hotel was in operation for 20 years until the 1980s when it was damaged during a hurricane and fell into disrepair.

The hotel was going to be restored through a grant from the National Park Service.

Schwebler said the project got approval on Thursday from Charleston County, the day before the fire. Friday morning was supposed to be the last day of deconstruction of the building. Schwebler said that because the hotel was in a degraded state, they were working on dismantling it and salvaging as much historic material as they could.

Bill “Cubby” Wilder is the owner of the Pine Tree Hotel.

“It’s a tragedy that somebody or something decided to put a torch to it,” Wilder said. “I was devastated when I heard the news that the motel was on fire.”

Schwebler said much of the salvaged material is still intact, so they will be able to go through with reconstructing it.

“We went through hurricanes, we went through all sorts of things,” Mosquito Beach Project Manager Kyle Taylor said. “This fire’s not gonna stop anything.”

The building was unoccupied at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

S.C. House Speaker Pro Tem Tommy Pope, R-Rock Hill, shot down a medical marijuana bill by S.C. Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, by ruling a 6% fee on medical marijuana sales creates a new tax. That power only is allowed under the state constitution by a bill that originates in the House, according to this story. The bill originated in the state Senate, where Davis has been fighting to pass the compassionate care bill for seven years.

In other South Carolina news:

Crowd rallies for pro-choice in downtown Charleston. In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion on overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion case, at least 200 advocates, including Planned Parenthood and Charleston Black Lives Matters representatives, rallied in downtown Charleston Wednesday night.

Former bank CEO indicted in Murdaugh case. Former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte was accused of 21 charges by the State Grand Jury Wednesday related to disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh. Lafitte was indicted for conspiring to steal roughly hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlement proceeds owed to the family of a deaf man who was left severely disabled after a 2009 car accident. The indictments come four months after the bank ousted him as CEO for his involvement with Murdaugh.

Airbnb to filter partygoers in Charleston for Memorial Day. Airbnb said it planned to prevent parties in Airbnb renter’s homes on Memorial Weekend in Charleston by restricting one- to two-day rentals being made by users with bad reviews.

Charleston nonprofit working to unearth sunken vessel. A group of young professionals is partnering with nonprofit group Wounded Nature Working Veterans to retrieve a sunken vessel in the Charleston harbor. The vessel, the group says, causes damage to the area near the James Island Connector and makes it dangerous for boaters sailing in and out. The two groups are looking to raise $15,000 to help retrieve the boat.

Lowcountry wedding industry back in full swing. The Wedding Report predicts nearly 2.5 million U.S. weddings in 2022, the highest number since 1984. Local businesses like Taylor Jordan Photography and Patrick Properties Hospitality Group have seen an increase in business after two years of the pandemic. Officials say weddings in North Charleston make a positive impact to the city, as the national average cost of a wedding is $32,000.

Carolina Squat vehicle modification is one step closer to being banned. The S.C. House unanimously voted on Wednesday to ban vehicle modifications like the “Carolina Squat,” a modification in which the front end of a truck or SUV being placed higher than the back end, from roadways. If the bill becomes law, vehicles will be prohibited from raising four or more inches above the height of the rear fender.

To get dozens of South Carolina news stories every business day, contact the folks at SC Clips.

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Residents of Beefield on James Island want their community placed on the Charleston County Historic District.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The Beefield community on James Island is small, but the people make up a tight-knit and passionate neighborhood with a lot of stories.

Community president George Richardson says between the military events, a sense of community and peaceful nature, it’s more important than ever to preserve Beefield’s history. To that end, he and his neighbors came out to a county meeting Tuesday night to make their voice heard.

“Because when you start walking the dirt road, we’re all in the woods or the trees. It’s almost like you’re in another world. And just beyond that, the Folly Road we’re all in traffic running up and down Folly Beach, you forget all about that is like stepping into another time is peaceful. And that’s what my community loves,” Richardson says.

The “Bee Tract” is almost 60 acres of land on James Island off Folly Road at Battery Island Drive. Richardson says it is the site of important Civil War history including the 1862 Battle of Secessionville and an 1864 third Assault on James Island.

It is also part of an African American remnant freedman community.

“You drive down battery Island drive, which is along the stream, you’ll notice that every house has at least two oak trees in the front yard, and they’re draped in one straight line from one end to the other end,” he says. “You know, and we like that. We sit on our porch and we yell over to each other and that kind of thing.”

The South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust says the archeological significance from battles is there and has been well preserved so far. Most of the land has been passed down to family members since they bought it in 1872.

Justin Schwebler, property manager for the Historic Charleston Foundation, says the status is an extra layer of protection and recognition for the people and their land.

“Basically, what that does is creating a process properties boundary around these original parcels of the historic district gives them an extra layer of protection against inappropriate development, things like that. So if anybody wants to come into the community change uses build a highway or something or build a hotel or restaurants,” Schwebler says.

The planning and public works committee will have a meeting about the Beefield land on April 21 and a proposal will come back for Charleston County Council to consider on April 26.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.