islandpacket.com - The Island Packet Online

Search Everything in the Lowcountry and the Coastal Empire.

State still wants U.S. 278 project completed by October

Add Comment

If things go according to plan, and construction projects almost never do, the U.S. 278 widening project will be complete in about seven and a half months.

• Photo: Westbound motorists thread their way through the barrelscape of the U.S. 278 construction zone between S.C. 46 and Simmonsville Road on Wednesday afternoon.
  Jay Karr/The Island Packet
  + Enlarge Image

Transportation officials monitoring the project still are aiming to complete the work by the Oct. 26 deadline. But several additions have been made to the scope of the project -- such as adding bike lanes and an unplanned right-turn lane.

That means the project's contractor, APAC-Southeast, is asking for more time, according to Billy Coleman, project manager for Triplett-King & Associates, the company helping manage the project for the state Department of Transportation.

In order to come as close to the deadline as possible, APAC plans to work during part of Verizon Heritage week. The PGA golf tournament at Harbour Town Golf Links runs from April 10-16.

State transportation officials remained tight-lipped Wednesday on how much, if any, additional time APAC could be given to complete the widening from the Simmonsville Road to Moss Creek areas.

"We're trying to work with APAC and get the job done as quickly as possible," said David Glenn, district construction engineer with the Transportation Department.

Contact Ginny Skalski at 706-8144 or . To comment on this story, please go to islandpacket.com.