Homes for Sale in Bridges of Summerville neighborhood in Summerville, SC

SPARTANBURG — Among the roads that could be included in a six-year penny sales tax referendum on November’s ballot for asphalt repaving is an 11-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 29 from John B. White Sr. Boulevard in Spartanburg to the Cherokee County line.

County Council has formed a Capital Penny Commission to sort through a proposed list of projects that could be funded by the tax, if approved by voters. The penny sales tax would generate about $478 million from May 1, 2024, through April 30, 2030, to help pay for road and bridge infrastructure projects. County Director of Public Works Travis Brown presented a recommendation on May 9 to County Council on which projects should be reviewed by the commission.

The commission will make a recommendation to the County Council by Aug. 15 to finalize the referendum’s language.

Brown said projects were identified in part by addressing areas of higher growth and how best to work with the S.C. Department of Transportation to coordinate contracts. Funding from the penny sales tax would pay for improvements to state, county and municipal roads. It could also be used to replace bridges, improve storm water runoff infrastructure, and for intersection improvements throughout the county.

The projected cost to repave U.S. 29 from John B. White Sr. Boulevard to the Cherokee County line would be about $22 million. Also on the list for repaving is a 6-mile stretch of Reidville Road from S.C. Highway 290 to S.C. Highway 295 with a cost of $14 million to complete. Thirteen miles of Southport Road from S.C. Highway 215 to U.S. Highway 176 southeast of Spartanburg is also among the recommended projects for repaving. It would cost about $25 million to complete this asphalt repaving project.

Brown said the recommended projects include 14 intersection improvements, 10 bridge replacements and 30 storm water infrastructure upgrades. A majority of the asphalt paving projects would likely be completed before other work was completed, Brown said.

SPARTANBURG COUNTY — Two school districts in rural areas of Spartanburg County were recently awarded funds through a federal grant to expand early childhood education and afterschool learning programs.

The $15 million full-service community schools grant will be administered over the next five years in Spartanburg County School Districts 3 and 7. The grant will also help provide additional mental health services in the school districts. The Spartanburg Academic Movement, formed in 2013, helped secure the grant funding.

Initially, Cowpens Elementary School, Pacolet Elementary School, Cleveland Academy of Leadership, Mary H. Wright Elementary School, Carver Middle School and Clifdale Middle School will receive support through the grant funding. Support includes additional 3K classrooms, family navigators and a mobile health clinic.

“We would like to thank Dr. Booker, the team at Spartanburg Academic Movement, and our local school district and agency partners for collaborating to bring this significant investment to our community” Spartanburg School District 3 Superintendent Julie Fowler said. “From expanded educational opportunities to mental health support, the Full-Service Community Schools Grant will help us ensure our students have the resources they need to excel academically and build bright futures.”

The grant administered by the U.S. Department of Education focuses on providing integrated student support and encourages family and community engagement.

“I am proud that Spartanburg is able to demonstrate a shared, community-wide commitment to this work that is deemed worthy of such a significant investment,” Spartanburg County School District 7 Superintendent Jeff Stevens said. “The Full-Service Community Schools grant will greatly impact District 7 through initiatives that expand early childhood education, after school programming, health and social services, family engagement, and much more.”

Spartanburg Academic Movement CEO Russell Booker said work continues to help increase economic mobility in the county through the group’s Movement 2030 plan.

The non-profit not only works with school districts to improve school readiness but also with other partners to provide additional educational services and resources. In 2023, Blue Meridian pledged $50 million and The Duke Endowment pledged $25 million to help fund the Movement 2030 plan to help improve education outcomes.

“There was a time when you could make a good living working at the mills and of course those mills went away,” Booker said. “We we relied so heavily on textiles and there were not a lot of people going to college.”

With a changing economy, SAM is working to increase the number of students graduating from high school and attending college. SAM hopes to raise the number of residents in Spartanburg County with a college degree to 40 percent by 2030.

In 2013, SAM was formed with only a few employees. The organization now has 19 employees and plans to grow to 26 employees in 2024. In a need for more space, SAM’s headquarters is moving from its location at 349 E. Main St., Spartanburg to a floor at the Wells Fargo building near the intersection of North Pine and East Saint John streets. After retiring as Spartanburg County School District 7′s Superintendent in July 2020, Booker went to work for SAM.

Developing partnerships has been key in moving SAM’s initiatives forward. SAM has helped raise $102 million in private philanthropy and issued $9 million in grants, Booker said.

“Our approach is to use data as a flashlight and not as a hammer,” Booker said. “We use one county metric to see how we are doing as a whole. A big part in what we do is helping educators think about continuous improvement and how we can identify where are the gaps. Our plans focus on school readiness, neighborhood outcomes and educational attainment.”

SAM’s supporting partners include the Benjamin E. Mays Family Center, Bloom Upstate, Emerge Family Therapy Center, My Brother’s Keeper, Northside Development Group, The Bethlehem Center, United Way of the Piedmont and ReGenesis Healthcare.

Just weeks after the first ship visited its brand new Leatherman Terminal, the State Ports Authority already is looking ahead to what happens after the North Charleston site hits its capacity sometime in the mid-2030s.

The answer likely will lie a few miles north along the Cooper River, and it involves an ambitious plan to replace the Don N. Holt Bridge with a taller span that will let some of the world’s largest vessels make their way to a refurbished North Charleston Terminal, giving the Port of Charleston enough real estate to operate well into the mid-century.

“I think we have an obligation to answer the question of what comes next after Leatherman in the Charleston market,” said Jim Newsome, the SPA’s president and CEO.

The first phase of the Leatherman Terminal greeted its first ship April 9, and once completed the site is designed to handle 2.4 million containers a year — doubling the port’s current capacity.

But port directors play the long game.

“Modern port authorities are never status quo,” said Ron Brinson, a North Charleston Councilman who spent 16 years as president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans. “You always have to be looking at your next expansion plan if you are serious about growing in the marketplace.”

Steps are already being taken to pave the way for a new bridge crossing the Cooper River along Interstate 526, with a 198-foot clearance that would match the Ravenel Bridge’s. The Don Holt has a 158-foot clearance — too low for the so-called megaships that commonly stack 15,000 or more boxes on their decks.

Of the port’s 25 weekly container routes, only five use vessels that can fit under the Don Holt. As lines deploy larger ships to the East Coast, the number that can navigate to the North Charleston Terminal will continue to dwindle — unless the bridge is raised.

A new span is part of a two-part, $5 billion plan to upgrade and widen I-526 from Paul Cantrell Boulevard in West Ashley to U.S. Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant. An environmental impact study for the first phase, the western portion, should be completed this fall with construction to start in 2026.

Less than a month after the state’s health department issued a sweeping letter to food and beverage makers warning against advertising THC, High Rise Beverage Co. announced it will pause its distribution of hemp seltzers.

The Charleston-based brand made the announcement Feb. 7. The decision comes as the company plans to launch a hemp and THC-free line of adaptogen seltzers in March.

The “Blackout Edition” is a response to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control’s Jan. 22 letter to the hemp industry declaring that product labels for hemp-infused food and drink shouldn’t declare that they contain THC, CBD or Delta-9 — though all of them naturally occur in hemp oil.

High Rise said in a statement that 10 cents from every can sold from the “Blackout Edition” will go toward advocacy for hemp laws and educational initiatives in the field.

Matt Skinner, co-founder of High Rise, told The Post and Courier that the company’s cannabis dry bar will also be going cannabinoid-free.

The nonalcoholic movement is big enough to support the dry bar without THC, Skinner said. And at this point, he feels like High Rise is a brand beyond its THC products.

High Rise isn’t the only business pulling back from distributing hemp products in South Carolina.

In response to a raid on his hemp shop, delayed justice and a lack of clarity about what is and isn’t legal, Michael Sims is planning to close Crowntown Cannabis, his only South Carolina location.

The westbound lanes of the James B. Edwards Bridge over the Wando River on Interstate 526 were closed Monday 14th after a weekly inspection discovered a rupture in a corroding area of one of eight main cables that support it.

Can the bridge be saved? If only the answer were a simple yes or no.

Here’s a primer to help you understand.

What happens when support cables holding up a bridge start to corrode?

The rusting keeps getting worse, according to NACE International, a worldwide association of corrosion engineers.

Repairs and maintenance can slow down how fast it gets worse but they won’t stop the acceleration (see graphic).

“If we see 2 percent damage this year, next year we may see 3 or 4 percent, to bring the total (damage) to 5 or 6 percent,” the association wrote in its 2012 Corrosion Plan for Bridges.

How bad is the Wando River Bridge?

Pretty bad, if repairs have had to be made twice in two years (a cable nearby was replaced in 2016) and inspections of the cables on both the eastbound and westbound spans are taking place weekly.

“Healthy” bridges are inspected annually, according to federal guidelines, then more frequently if damage is found.

Anything more frequent than six months is a clear sign of chronic trouble, according to bridge experts.

What can be done about it?

The Wando bridge cable is being replaced and work is expected to take four weeks. That should solve the immediate problem but not the heightened concern for eventual support failure.

How much will repairs/replacement cost?

No estimates had been given on the current repair as of Friday. But according to NACE, as corrosion gets worse the cost to keep it repaired gets worse at about the same steep rate.

Meanwhile, “the closer you get toward the end of the lifespan of the bridge the more maintenance you have to do,” said S.C. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary for Engineering Leland Colvin.

The $32.1 million price of the bridge in 1989 would be equal to $63 million today, with inflation.

State Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Charleston, said the ifs and whens on any replacement would depend on what engineers tell them after the current work is done. A bond to pay for a new bridge would cost more as interest rates rise.

The Senate’s transportation committee, which Grooms chairs, already is exploring alternative financing for large scale projects, such as public-private partnerships, he said.

Can the 30-year-old bridge be saved?

Questions exist for its full 50-year life span.

The former Cline Avenue Bridge in East Chicago, Indiana — a construction type similar to the Wando bridge— was closed and then demolished in 2009, nine years after corrosion problems first were spotted, when the corrosion became so widespread it couldn’t be repaired.

That was 37 years after it opened, according to media reports.

For now, there is no immediate push by DOT to consider a tear-down and re-do.

“We have no intention at this time to replace the structure,” Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall said Friday. “It is not in a condition where it needs to be fully replaced.”

Dr. Charles P. Darby Jr., whose advocacy led to the creation of a children’s hospital at the Medical University of South Carolina and a research institute there that bears his name, died Feb. 7. He was 90.

“This is a profound loss for our institution, and it is important to remember the incredible legacy that Dr. Darby leaves behind,” MUSC President David J. Cole said. “His impact on the countless lives he touched will continue to be felt for generations.”

Darby became chair of pediatrics at MUSC in 1982 and began a campaign working with the state Legislature to create a children’s hospital in 1987. He played a key part in launching what is now the Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital at MUSC, which opened in 2020. Under his leadership, the faculty devoted to pediatrics increased from 12 to 80.

“He had this passion to heal children,” said his son John Darby, who lives in Mount Pleasant.

When he started out in his practice in Mount Pleasant, parents who had children with a scrape or who needed stitches would come by his house after-hours or on the weekends, and he would prop them up on the pingpong table and fix them up, John Darby recalled.

It was also his drive to improve health care for children that led to the creation of the Darby Children’s Research Institute in 2007.

“Quality clinical care is essential for every children’s hospital, but it is the constant quest for new knowledge and better outcomes that set the better institutions apart from the rest,” Charles Darby Jr. was quoted as saying.

He had a “profound and sustained” impact on the health and well-being of children across South Carolina, said Dr. Elizabeth Mack, president of the South Carolina Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Darby not only shaped generations of pediatricians and pediatric surgeons during his 22 years as chair at MUSC, but on others around him as well, she said.

“The S.C. Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics remembers him as a humble servant, leader, advocate, educator, researcher, pediatrician, philanthropist and kind human,” Mack said.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Earlier this week, state Rep. Gary Brewer made a post on Facebook demanding the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) look into the Highway 61 Bridge on Ashley River. Brewer is claiming the bridge is unsafe and driving on it could lead to dangerous collisions.

"I've been driving that road since 1982 and it's gotten worse and worse and worse," said Jeffrey Hearn, who lives in West Ashley.

The Highway 61 Bridge may be small, but for some driving over, it can be nerve-wracking.

Read more: Bridge replacement project along West Ashley Greenway to begin Monday

"Whenever I'm going over (the bridge), I tell my kids just to be quiet," said Addie-Jane Lynn, a West Ashley realtor. "I will answer your questions when I get over this bridge because the potholes are bad, it's kind of scary."

Many neighbors complain that the bride has erosion, which ends up leading to potholes.

"It's eroding on the sides and it's got a slope to it," Hearn said. "The other side that draws the city-bound traffic toward the other lane, it's really hazardous and really needs to be fixed."

Hearn has been driving over the Highway 61 Bridge for most of his life and after years of frustration, he decided to make a change. He hopes action is taken soon.

"I can get to where I'm going in 12 minutes on a bicycle and it takes me 20 minutes on a car," Hearn said. "I would love to see Glenn McConnell finished all the way to Summerville so it will get Summerville traffic out of 61. I don't know what else to say because all they do is talk about it, but don't get anything done."

Read more: Ashley River Bridge North closed due to mechanical malfunction, CPD says

The SCDOT issued the following statement on the bridge:

"The Ashley River Road bridge over the railroad tracks is in fair condition and does not currently meet the criteria to be replaced. We routinely inspect all state maintained bridges and this bridge is safe for travel."

"SCDOT is committed to improving our bridge network statewide. We are repairing and replacing hundreds of deficient bridges across South Carolina as part of the agency's Strategic 10-year plan to improve the state's roads and bridges. Additionally, SCDOT has asked the General Assembly to consider an additional $200 million per year over five years to be included in the upcoming budget that would be directed to expedite and increase those efforts."

Clarius Partners and Stonemont Financial Group have announced that Buildings 3 and 4 are available for lease at the partnership’s Omni Industrial Campus in Summerville, S.C. The two speculative buildings total nearly 971,000 square feet of Class A industrial space.

Bridge Commercial is the exclusive leasing agent in charge of the 1.3 million-square-foot industrial park, expected to be delivered in June 2023.

Omni Industrial Campus is situated on nearly 100 acres, within the Jedburg Industrial Corridor, close to Interstate 26, 22 miles from North Charleston Port, 26 miles from Hugh Leatherman Terminal and within 32 miles of the Port Charleston, one of the fastest-growing ports in the U.S. over the last decade. The development is also situated close to the 4,500-acre, master-planned community Nexton, and other residential areas, allowing future tenants easy access to the market’s workforce.

Designed to serve a variety of users

Bridge Commercial’s team led by Executive Vice Presidents Hagood Morrison and Simons Johnson, President Peter Fennelly and Associate Vice President Will Crowell are the appointed leasing brokers in charge of the development.

The project’s initial building, Building 2, encompassing 360,320 square feet of space is fully preleased to a long-term, build-to-suit tenant. The remaining two buildings will feature 36-foot clear heights, LED lightning and ESFR sprinkler systems. The 364,700-square-foot Building 3, designed to accommodate multiple tenants, will have 305 vehicle parking spots, 79 trailer parking spots, four drive-in doors and 36 dock high doors, while the 606,880-square-foot Building 4, designed for large volume distribution, will have 350 vehicle parking spots, 157 trailer parking spots, four drive-in doors and 64 dock-high doors. Additionally, all three properties will also have a speculative office component, available for occupancy starting June of this year.

READ ALSO: Heightened Industrial Demand Boosts New Lease Rates

The industrial project is the largest option near the Port of Charleston for companies looking for an intermodal distribution point in the Southeast region, Stonemont Managing Principal & CEO Zack Markwell said in a prepared statement.

Earlier this month, Avison Young was tapped as leasing agent in charge of another industrial property under development in the Charleston area. The firm will market for lease a 545,000-square-foot project in Ridgeville, S.C., that is part of Camp Hall Commerce Park, a 6,800-acre master-planned development.