Mayor William Cogswell announced tonight at the State of Our City: West Ashley event that the City intends to sign an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT), formally giving the City expanded authority to repair state-owned roads. The City has also secured funding to re-time every traffic signal in West Ashley to help increase traffic flow.
Roughly half of the roads in the city, including some of the most-used corridors, are not owned by the city. Historically, that meant City repair crews could not perform maintenance on them. That is changing: with the IGA in place, the City can fix 20–30 potholes a day and is adding a second repair crew and truck dedicated to the work, funded using excess revenue from increased hotel and business license fees.
Beginning in early 2027, the City will also launch a dedicated pothole hotline, giving residents a direct way to report potholes for repair.
The City has also secured CHATS (Charleston Area Transportation Study) funding to retime every traffic signal in West Ashley. A similar signal-retiming effort already completed on the Calhoun Corridor has improved traffic flow there by roughly 25%.
"It all comes down to the same goal: making our roads work better for the people who use them every day," said Mayor Cogswell. "We're cutting through red tape with our state and regional partners to get it done."
Tonight’s announcement came during the West Ashley stop of State of Our City, a five-part community series this fall in which Mayor Cogswell and Charleston City Councilmembers are sharing what’s underway, what’s finished, and what’s ahead in each part of the city. West Ashley was the first stop in the series; upcoming stops include James Island, Johns Island, Daniel Island & Cainhoy, and the Peninsula.
Any question that was submitted and was not answered tonight will be posted with an answer on our webpage or via email within 10 days. Learn more here: charleston-sc.gov/