Windmill Harbour road improvements underway
The orange and white construction cones that have bloomed along U.S. 278 on Jenkins Island signal that long-awaited improvements to the entrance of Windmill Harbour are finally underway.
Late last month crews began the process of moving underground utilities to make room for storm drainage along the highway, said project engineer Ralph Cooke, who is inspecting the S.C. Department of Transportation-led project for F&ME Consultants.
Once that is completed, crews will turn their attention to lane alterations designed to improve safety at the Windmill Harbour entrance, where drivers entering and leaving U.S. 278 often dart dangerously through small gaps in traffic.
The improvements include lengthening an acceleration lane for right turns out of the community to give merging drivers enough time to accelerate before entering the highway. Plans also include moving the left-turn lane into Windmill Harbour closer to the median to make it easier for those drivers to see oncoming traffic.
Paving for the improvements will begin later this summer, Cooke said. Crews will work at night, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and will close only one lane at a time.
The $900,000 project is expected to be finished by late September, he said.
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Related content:
- Windmill Harbour traffic project could help ease the blind dash across US 278, May 7, 2015
- DOT rejects proposed access road at Windmill Harbour, suggests new plan, April 21, 2014
- DOT to review plans for US 278, Windmill Harbour entrance, Feb. 9, 2014
This story was originally published July 6, 2015 at 10:11 AM with the headline "Windmill Harbour road improvements underway."