CHARLESTON, S.C. — Charleston City Council takes up a $495,000 construction contract at its 5 p.m. meeting Tuesday, Nov. 10, that would pay for the opening phase of an overhaul of the cracked and shifting bluestone sidewalks on Broad Street.
The first stretch runs 742 feet, beginning where Broad meets King Street and finishing at 68 Broad St. Wildwood Contractors is the firm tied to the work, which the council committee on public works and utilities endorsed on Oct. 26. That segment is on the north side of the street and reaches just past City Hall.
City officials have said complaints about safety and access drove the project. Crews would pull up, reset or swap out loose and broken stones, reuse bluestone where they can, rebuild the base beneath the walk and the curbing, and install the textured warning pads required under the Americans with Disabilities Act at each corner. Parking meters along the stretch would come out, and some tree wells would get power.
Related work on storm drain basins and Dominion Energy utility boxes would happen at the same time. The city plans to finish one side of the street before starting on the other.
If the contract is approved, construction is expected to begin in January, and each section should take between two and four months. Temporary walkways and ramps, set apart from the work zone by Jersey barriers, would keep shop entrances open. The city has mapped out six phases in all to redo the walks along Broad Street.
Filed under: Hilton Head Island SC Politics News
