The Legislature's 2002 directive to build a new port facility on the west bank of the Cooper River will eventually require the allocation of state money to make that costly project possible. But before that major commitment is required, legislators have to come up with $5 million to determine how trucks are going to get to and from the facility. That money has to be provided next session.
The transportation study should be undertaken in conjunction with an environmental impact study for port expansion on the old Navy Base, required before a permit can be issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The access road to I-26, serving the port, will be among the major impacts of port expansion.
Already, possible routes to provide trucks access to the port from the interstate have been a central point of discussion for the expansion plan on the Navy Base.
The road system will involve existing neighborhoods in North Charleston, and residents have urged its effects be mitigated to the extent possible.
Any failure to proceed with a timely study of transportation access for the port should be viewed with dismay. The memorandum of understanding between the city and the port includes a commitment by the SPA to see the improvements made before a new terminal opens.
A port spokesman, however, insists that the SPA isn't responsible for carrying out the transportation study or building the roads that will provide the new port with interstate access.
"There needs to be increased focus on the transportation end of things, but we are not supposed to be the lead agency on this," SPA spokesman Byron Miller said. "Infrastructure is supposed to be built to the ports authority, not by the ports authority."
Presumably, the state Department of Transportation will serve as the lead state agency, and will work with the Federal Highway Administration, the state Railway Commission, the Charleston Area Transportation Study Committee (CHATS), the SPA and the city of North Charleston, as transportation plans are developed.
The Macalloy tract appears to offer a comparatively low-impact route for access to the port from I-26. It would avoid existing neighborhoods and allow the productive use of a badly polluted industrial site. Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, views it as the "common-sense" alternative.
But before that route, or any other, can be properly reviewed, the Legislature has to proceed with an allocation for the transportation study.
The local legislative delegation should be prepared to take the message back to Columbia in January, reminding their colleagues that while the new port facility will be located in North Charleston, it will serve the state.
Their consideration of that allocation should prepare legislators for the reality that the road improvements necessary for port expansion are expected to cost some $300 million. According to a recent report, the expansion timetable already has been moved from 2008 to 2010. The Legislature should proceed with the necessary preliminaries next session to ensure that the project isn't further delayed.
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