Highway 41 Online Meeting

How We Got Here

The Alternatives Review Process

In accordance with NEPA procedures, an alternatives development and screening process was used to identify alternatives for the Highway 41 corridor that best satisfies the project’s purpose and need, while minimizing impacts to the human and natural environments.

Alternative 1

Alternative 7a

Reasonable Alternatives

Alternative 1 and Alternative 7a were presented to the public as the reasonable alternatives for review and comment. The project team examined and compared the environmental impacts, costs and logistics of these reasonable alternatives, and Alternative 1 was identified as the proposed alternative due to:

Greater improved traffic times More

Lowest overall project cost More

Less effects from noise More

Fewer impacts to Laurel Hill County Park More

Fewer wetland impacts More

You can compare the findings of and impacts associated with Alternative 1 and 7a in the Environmental Findings section at the bottom of this page.

Need more information on the alternatives review process?
Read the Alternatives Analysis Screening Report located at
http://hwy41sc.com/resources.html

Evaluating the Intersection at Highways 41/17

To effectively alleviate congestion on Highway 41, the project team needed to also look at the larger Mt. Pleasant roadway network. Our project team found that poor traffic operations at these nearby intersections significantly contributed to traffic congestion along Highway 41.

Map showing intersection of Highway 41 and Highway 17

The intersection improvements along Highway 17 will:

1 Enhance connectivity in Mt. Pleasant and regionally

2 Improve traffic safety and operations in this corridor between Long Point Road and Highway 41

3 Accommodate anticipated high traffic growth and population growth forecasts

4 Minimize impacts to residents and businesses within this corridor

5 Provide better connections for bicycles and pedestrians

Environmental Findings

Travel Time (Minutes)
	2045 No Build		2045 Build Alternative 1		2045 Build Alternative 7a
	AM	PM	AM	PM	AM	PM
SC 41 Westbound	7.0	22.4	7.4	8.5	8.8	13.8
SC 41 Eastbound	37.6	32.0	7.6	9.8	9.6	10.8
US 17 Northbound	14.6	11.5	6.0	5.9	7.3	5.7
US 17 Southbound	17.0	33.8	6.9	6.0	6.3	6.7

Based on peak travel time, residents will get to work, school, and home faster with Alternative 1 vs. Alternative 7a.

Environmental Screening results		Alternative 1	Alternative 7a
Does this alternative meet the primary purpose and need of the project?		Yes	Yes
Does this alternative meet the secondary purpose and need of the project?		Yes	Yes
What are the environmental impacts?
Wetlands	Tidal	5.3	5.0
	Freshwater	2.9	6.2
	Wetlands under restrictive covenants (tidal and freshwater)	0.8	4.2
What are the community impacts?
Properties	Full acquisitions or relocations (number of parcels)	0	0
	Partial acquisitions Number of parcels	213	164
	Right-of-way (acres)	30.4	58.3
Phillips Community Cultural Landscape	Full acquisitions or relocations (number of parcels)	0	0
	Partial acquisitions Number of parcels	85	2
	Right-of-way (acres)	4.7	0.6
Environmental Justice		Disproportionately high and adverse effects to Phillips Community	No disproportionate effects
Cultural and Historic Sites National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)	NRHP Archaeological Sites	1	2
	NRHP Eligible Cultural Landscape	Potential Adverse Effect	No Effect
	Sweetgrass Basket Corridor Traditional Cultural Property	Potential Adverse Effect	Potential Adverse Effect
Laurel Hill County Park		0.7	19.4
What are the noise impacts? Following the virtual meeting, the project team will solicit input on noise barriers directly from impacted receivers (individuals/homes) in the corridor.
	Impacted receivers (residential, recreational, churches, restaurant patios)	60	103
	Preliminary noise barriers identified	0	2
What is the estimated total cost? (millions)		$125	$155.1

Alternative 1 was identified as the proposed alternative because it has lowest overall cost, less noise impacts, and least impacts to wetlands and Laurel Hill County Park.

An outline of the environmental report can be found on the project website.

Environmental Studies

An environmental analysis was conducted to determine what impacts Alternative 1 and Alternative 7a, including the intersection improvements, would have on the human and natural environments. The final results of the studies are documented in the environmental report, which will be available for review later this year when it is submitted for review along with the permit application to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Several studies completed to date are available for review at www.hwy41sc.com, including the