Friends of Congaree Swamp: SCDOT Bridge

Action Alert-US Highway 601 Bridge Plan

SC DOT has proposed replacing the US Highway 601 bridges over the Congaree River and its floodplain. The current road system, completed in 1949, includes a combination of bridges and embankments that obstruct natural (sheet) flow of the Congaree River across its floodplain during periods of high water.

SC DOT's proposal leaves one small bridge in place and replaces three larger bridges (two pass over Bates Old River, and another passes over the Congaree) with bridges of the same length placed farther to the west. The plan will still include approximately 2 miles of embankment in the floodplain, though a new embankment will be built between the Congaree River and one of the Bates Old River bridges. The old embankment, where possible, will be removed, but there will be a net loss of wetlands (over 2 acres) under this plan.

SC DOT is moving the bridges west, rather than east, so that they do not interfere with the SCE&G transmission lines located east of the bridges; the bridge and transmission line "corridor" through the floodplain will thus be even wider than before. We feel that the entire floodway should be bridged, and that SCDOT should consider ideas for incorporating the transmission lines as part of the bridge design, so that the corridor has the smallest possible footprint through the floodplain.

Friends of Congaree Swamp would like you/your organization to ask SCDOT to consider alternate designs. As a first step in this process, we have included an information sheet to help you prepare your request for a public hearing concerning SCDOT's request to the Army Corps of Engineers and SC DHEC to fill wetlands. Remember, this request MUST be received by noon on August 8, 2005.

Information Sheet

Public comments should be addressed to both the following offices; they must be received by noon, August 8, 2005.

Charleston District, Corps of Engineers
Columbia Field Office
Strom Thurmond Federal Building
1835 Assembly Street, Room 865 B-1
Columbia, SC 29201

SC Department of Health and Environmental Control
Office of Environmental Quality Control
Water Quality Certification and Wetlands Programs Section
2600 Bull Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Be sure to request that public hearings for Public Notice #2005-2T-208-W be held to discuss state certification of compliance with Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. In general, writers can indicate support for the concerns listed in the Friends of Congaree Swamp.s 5/23/05 response to SCDOT plans presented at the public hearing and the environmental assessment.

Letters need only mention a couple points; these could include the significance of Congaree National Park, the importance of the 601 corridor to the Park.s expansion, and then objections to the design of the new bridge/embankment system:

• Congaree National Park is South Carolina's only National Park, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Globally Important Bird Area.
• US Highway 601 is a gateway to the Park, and is flanked by lands within Congaree National Park's congressionally-authorized boundary, so compatible construction across the floodplain would enhance that area of the Park, and have a positive impact on Lower Richland County and Calhoun County.
• SCDOT's proposal leaves 2 miles of floodplain embankments in place, though SCDOT generally endorses bridging floodplains and wetlands, as in the proposed crossing between Lone Star and Rimini. Bridging, rather than embankments, should be utilized to cross the Congaree floodplain. Bridging would also be consistent with SC DOT directives to avoid destruction of wetlands and restore water quality.
• SC DOT has not thoroughly considered feasible alternatives to its current plan. In addition to the recommendations in the Friends of Congaree Swamp's 5/23/05 letter, the National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and SC Department of Natural Resources have all requested much more extensive bridging of the floodplain than SCDOT is considering.
• SCDOT's plan should consider a wider range of options with respect to the two sets of electrical transmission lines that parallel Highway 601. The transmission lines could be incorporated into the new bridge design. Exemplary projects exist, but the Environmental Assessment considers only relocating the transmission lines eastward or destroying wetlands to the west of the current road alignment in order to avoid the transmission lines.

Articles

• Enhancing Congaree Park by John Grego

Last modified: May 11, 2008 by Edward Kujawski (ed@kujawski.org)
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