Traffic to once again flow on all 6 Crosstown lanes

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Crews worked through the weekend to finish as many of the final details as possible along the center median of the Crosstown's drainage upgrades and in spite of the recent weather, the City of Charleston anticipates that all 6 lanes of the Septima Clark Parkway (aka the Crosstown) will be open for vehicles this morning.

Completion of the lane markings (restriping and line eradication, weather pending) and removal of the orange barrels will finish the work that required the center lanes to be closed around the clock and will allow the lanes to be open to traffic tomorrow. (Wet pavement cannot be restriped and would delay the opening.)

Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. said, "We commend the hard and dedicated work of the staff and crews working on this critical project. The patience and understanding of the traveling public was appreciated as we began the improvements to the Septima Clark Parkway and the opening of these traffic lanes should provide an easier commute for many. We will continue working on the project, each step creating additional solutions to the drainage and a more pleasing roadway for travelers and those who live nearby."

This is the first phase of a larger $154,000,000 project. Each phase of the work provides some improvement to the drainage system replacing 18-inch pipes with new pipes up to 48-inch diameter. Construction of the tunnel and a pump station are included in the future phases and will provide the ultimate capacity to eliminate the flooding on the Septima Clark Parkway and also on Rutledge, Ashley Avenue, President and Fishburne Streets.

The current construction will continue through November 2012 as the contractor completes the work on both the north and southbound shoulders which includes sidewalks, curbing, lighting, landscaping, pedestrian crosswalks and repaving of the road. Subsurface drainage work in this contract is substantially complete.

The city is preparing to bid the next phase of the project which will include the surface drainage work on the remainder of Spring Street, President, Fishburne, Ashley and Bee and Cherry Street and will begin in the final quarter of 2012. The surface drainage work will be followed by construction of the outfall, large diameter tunnel and shafts. Finally, the last phase will be construction of the pump station mechanical equipment and building. 

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