Engineering Department | One Cent Tax

One Cent Makes Sense

On November 4, 2008, the voters of Berkeley County passed a one percent sales and use tax for "financing the costs of highways, roads, bridges, and other transportation-related project facilities, and drainage facilities related thereto." This tax will last for seven years and all the revenue generated will be used to construct roadway improvements including the projects listed in the approved referendum. Collection began the following May and the first revenue was received in October of 2009. As of January 31, 2013, a total of $62,668,821 has been collected. At this rate, $125.3 million will be collected over seven years.

This site is dedicated to keeping Berkeley County citizens informed on the progress of projects being constructed with your transportation sales tax. The following graphic illustrates the stage the project has reached (highlighted) and/or completed (✔). Stage Descriptions

Click here to view Completed Projects.

Ambassador Avenue Arthur Gillins Lane Avery Drive Benjamin Drive Beulah Tabernacle Road Blanding Road Calestown Road Clements Ferry Road Phase 1 Clements Ferry Road Phase 2 Coaxum Road College Park Road Crawford Road Dennis Drive England Road Farm Hill Circle Fauling Road Fennick Drive Firehouse Road George Wigfall Road Green Bay Road Henry Brown Boulevard Phase 1 Henry Brown Boulevard Phase 2 Jacob Piland Road Jedburg Road (US-176 to County Line) Local Street Resurfacing Local Street Resurfacing Phase 1A Local Street Resurfacing Phase 1B Mitchum Town Road Moultrie Lane Mourning Dove Drive Murray Drive @ Hanahan Road N. Highway 17-A @ Highway 41 Railroad Avenue Extension SC Highway 6 (S-5 to SC-311) Spring Pond Road Starks Croker Drive Stevensridge Lane Timberline Way Tobacco Road US 17-A Widening Phase 3 Wilder Road Zion Road

In Progress					Pending
Stage 1	Stage 2	Stage 3	Stage 4	Stage 5	Stage 6

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The project consists of the paving and related improvements for Ambassador Avenue from the intersection with Cooper Store Road (S-8-16) to the intersection with Macio Road (S-8-1117). The project length is approximately 3620 linear feet.

Stage 1 - Pre-Design

The Pre-Design stage includes selection of the consulting engineer and negotiation of the design contract; field surveys; property and right of way research; utility investigations; and geotechnical investigations.

Stage 2 - Preliminary Design

During the Preliminary Design stage, the consulting engineer performs engineering design sufficient to produce preliminary roadway and drainage plans. Those plans are reviewed by the Engineering Department and comments are returned to the consulting engineer for revisions and refinement of the design.

Stage 3 - Final Design

In the Final Design stage, the consulting engineer incorporates comments from the Engineering Department and from regulatory agencies into detailed final roadway and drainage plans. The final plans contain roadway plans, profiles, cross sections, details, and construction quantities which can be used for right of way acquisition, permitting, and bidding for construction.

Stage 4 - Permitting

Depending on the location and type of project, as well as the scope of the project, permit applications are submitted for one or more of the following:

• Land disturbance permits (SCDHEC)
• Encroachment permits (SCDOT)
• Wetland determination and permits (Army Corps of Engineers and SCDHEC)

Stage 5 - Right-of-Way Acquisition

In cases where the project requires the acquisition of additional right of way and/or easements, the appropriate documents are prepared and distributed to the affected property owners. If property owners have questions about the documents or the project, they are encouraged to contact the Engineering Department or the consulting engineer. The timely return of the right-of-way documents is critical to the construction schedule.

Stage 6 - Construction

Bid documents are prepared and construction contractors are invited to submit bids to construct the project. Based on an analysis of the bid results, a recommendation is made to County Council for awarding the construction contract. The selected contractor begins construction, which typically continues for three to six months until completion.