Construction on Ashley River Crossing pedestrian, bike bridge could take a year to begin

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston City Council is expected to get an update Tuesday on the Ashley River Crossing project, which includes a bridge for pedestrians and bikers that will connect downtown and West Ashley.

Edmund Most, the Deputy Director of Capital Projects for the city, said this is a quick-moving project, although, it could still be some time before we actually start to see physical construction on the bridge. But, a lot is going on behind the scenes.

Back in November of last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a BUILD Grant of $18 million for the bridge. That would be matched with $4.6 million locally.

City officials are working to secure a pre-design engineering team that will put together all of the documents needed.

They’re also working on identifying what’s called the “scope of work,” which includes environmental studies and everything associated with putting infrastructure across the river. That process will also include community outreach to get the public’s input.

The next step after that would be getting the engineer and construction team that would start construction and finish out the project.

By this time next year, Most said they’ll have a better timeline of scheduling and when we could actually see infrastructure going in the ground.

Once built, the crossing will complete a 12-mile stretch of dedicated bicycle and pedestrian pathway connecting West Ashley and downtown Charleston.

Copyright 2020 WCSC. All rights reserved.