Summerville, South Carolina, is a part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. As a steadily growing suburb for the adjacent large urban centers, Summerville is now the state's seventh-largest city. The town's population doubled in the 1980s, and it now has a population of approximately 52,000 people, including families, military personnel, and businesspeople.
With all this growth, Summerville's busy North Maple Street — which runs between Interstate 26 and U.S. Highway 78 — has experienced increasing congestion, especially during rush hour and afternoon school dismissals. The average daily traffic (ADT) for North Maple Street between West Richardson Avenue and U.S. Highway 78, as of 2023, is 10,000 vehicles. This is projected to increase to 16,200 vehicles by 2040. North of Highway 78, the 2023 ADT for North Maple Street is 17,400 vehicles and is projected to rise to 30,900 vehicles by 2040.
To meet the needs of this steadily increasing traffic, the North Maple Street Project is now under construction. This major infrastructure improvement initiative is aimed at improving community safety, mobility, and connectivity. The improvements to outdated and deteriorating infrastructure are also expected to bring new private investment into the area and contribute to Summerville's long-term growth.
As part of the North Maple Street Project improvements:
- North Maple will be widened from two lanes to three lanes from West Richardson to U.S. 78.
- North Maple will be widened from two lanes to five lanes north of U.S. 78.
- Turn lanes will be added at the West Richardson Avenue and U.S. 78 intersections.
- Parsons Road will be realigned and widened from two lanes to three lanes.
- Mast-arm traffic signals are being installed at the two project intersections: the existing signalized Highway 78 and North Maple Street intersection will be upgraded; new signals will be added at the West Richardson and Parsons/North Maple intersection.
- Existing overhead electrical transmission lines along North Maple Street are being moved underground.
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Completion of the project is expected to bring multiple benefits — from enhanced traffic flow to economic development opportunities, and more — to the community.
“The realignment of Parsons Road to tie in across from North Maple Street, and the new signalization of the West Richardson Avenue and Parsons/North Maple intersection, will greatly improve the traffic flow,” said Bonnie Miley, Summerville Town Engineer, Town of Summerville. “The project includes multi-use paths and sidewalks to increase pedestrian safety and mobility from the adjacent residential and commercial areas. And new street lighting is being added along North Maple Street to improve safety significantly.”
“The expected economic benefits of the project are numerous,” Summerville Town Administrator Scott Slatton added. “New commercial growth along the Maple Street-Nexton Parkway corridor is already underway with a variety of projects in development. Residential growth will continue in the project area, but without the traffic jams and lost commute times other parts of the Summerville area currently suffer. Finally, the potential for light industrial development will be enhanced with the increased interstate access the project brings not only to current industry in the area, but those areas adjacent to the project.”
Construction on the North Maple Street Project began in March 2023. The completion of construction is projected to be the end of 2025. The project's primary contractor is Blythe Development, LLC of Charlotte, North Carolina. Other project partners include: Michael Baker International (engineer of record, right-of-way acquisition); HDR Inc. (construction engineering and inspection); and Dorchester County Water & Sewer and WK Dickson (sewer relocation design).
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The project's total construction cost is approximately $21.09 million. The construction engineering and inspection cost is around $1.15 million. Funding comes from Dorchester County’s Transportation Sales Tax Program. An intergovernmental agreement has been executed between the Town of Summerville and Dorchester County for the county to reimburse the town for construction expenditures.
A new interchange on Interstate 26 (Exit 197, also known as the Nexton Interchange) near the northern portion of Summerville was the catalyst for the North Maple Street Project, Miley said.
“The completion of this interchange in 2018 provided direct access to job centers that have moved north up I-26 from the coast and has facilitated extreme growth in previously undeveloped areas,” she said. “The interchange project — a Berkeley County project — did not include a connection to nearby Maple Street, located in Dorchester County. So, the town pledged to fund the portion of the new connector within Dorchester County, which would provide a new route into Summerville and alleviate traffic on the heavily congested Exit 199 interchange [U.S. Highway 17A].”
Summerville Public Information Officer Christopher Makowski provided some highlights of the project development timeline.
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“In 2015, Summerville issued bonds to fund road projects, including the Maple Street Extension, and contracts were signed with Michael Baker International for right-of-way plans and acquisition related to the Maple Street Extension,” he said. “In 2017, right-of-way plans for the Maple Street Extension were completed, and the town contracted Baker to handle right-of-way acquisitions, with 90 parcels needed. In 2019, Baker was contracted for the final design of the Maple Street Extension. Those final plans and environmental permits were approved in 2022.
“Construction began in March 2023, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the North Maple Street Project that April.”
According to Jeratt Merrell, CE&I Project Manager with HDR Inc., the project's Traffic Control Notes included a suggested traffic staging plan. This plan was designed as follows:
- Phase 1 - Construct North Maple Street widening, curb and gutter, sidewalk, and asphalt widening.
- Phase 1A - Close and reconfigure Gibbs Loop South and Shamrock Drive using detours. The detours were to be in place for a seven-day maximum.
- Phase 2 - Open new location, North Maple Street, to traffic (the new Parsons Road to North Maple Street and old Parsons at West Richardson). Complete all remaining pavement work.
- Phase 3 - Install final pavement marking and permanent signs.
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“Blythe Development’s phasing plan was based on a suggested traffic staging plan and an available area to work in without utility relocation needs,” Merrell said. “Blythe broke the project into five zones. Zone 1 covers Parsons, and West Richardson to the railroad track on North Maple. Zone 2 covers the middle section of North Maple from the railroad track to U.S. 78. Zone 3 is U.S. 78 to the end of the project limits on North Maple. Zone 4 is the railroad area on North Maple, and Zone 5 is U.S. 78.
“Blythe started by clearing and grubbing the trees during the project. They then moved through the woods to Zone 1 construction on the new road. This had less impact on the public, and the area had very few utilities.”
He said that Zone 1 is now completed. This includes full road width pavement, sidewalk, and curb and gutter. This also includes new traffic signal at West Richardson and North Maple Street.
Currently underway is the Zone 2 paving, sidewalk, and driveways, and the Zone 3 drainage and earthwork. “Blythe plans to move to Zone 4 and 5 last,” Merrell said.
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“The project continues to work in areas as they become available, when existing utilities have been and continue to be relocated, making continuing construction possible when conflicts are cleared for the project’s work to progress,” said Daniel Williamson, Blythe Development Project Manager. “Utility relocations have made a major impact for project progress.”
Merrell and Williamson cite several construction challenges on the project.
“We have 10 different utilities within the right-of-way requiring relocation,” Merrell said. “HDR facilitates weekly progress meetings with the contractor, the town, and all utilities. Two additional existing utilities to be relocated were discovered after the start of the project. The utility relocations have and are the biggest challenge to the progress of this project.”
“Working around a live railroad requires construction coordination with railroad personnel,” Williamson added. “Also, this route is a main travel way from an interstate for Summerville residents. We must maintain open lanes during peak travel time during construction. Two of the roadways only allow for night work.”
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Williamson also pointed out that there is game-changing technology and “green” features on the project. “We're using GPS and Universal Total Station [UTS] equipment for construction of the project,” he said. “Recycled asphalt is used for the new asphalt materials, and all concrete demo will be crushed for reuse.
“The newer equipment utilized on site is Tier 4 Final, which decreases emissions into the atmosphere. And the project incorporates 8-foot multi-use paths for primary pedestrian access, with 5-foot sidewalks on secondary routes.”
Williamson said that due to the North Maple Street Project's nature and small working areas, smaller to medium size heavy equipment is being utilized, including skid steers, loaders, track dozers, rollers, excavators, pavers, and UTS curb machines and motor graders when practical. Most of the machines are Caterpillar and John Deere equipment.
- Primary Contractor: Blythe Development, LLC, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Engineer of Record, Right-of-Way Acquisition: Michael Baker International
- Construction Engineering and Inspection: HDR Inc.
- Sewer Relocation Design: Dorchester County Water & Sewer and WK Dickson
- Subcontractors: Banks Construction Co. (asphalt paving); Premier Constructors Inc. (traffic signals); Southern Concrete & Construction Inc. (concrete scope); Peek Pavement Marking LLC (pavement markings); Bowman Consulting Group Ltd (survey, construction testing and sampling); Seed Slingers LLC (erosion control); Southern Commercial Development LLC (traffic control and signage); WB Henry Contracting Inc. (clearing and grubbing)
