Highway 41 Corridor Improvements

In 2020, Charleston County proposed widening Highway 41 to five-lanes through the Phillips community, but given concerns expressed by residents and advocacy from the Conservation League and our partners, it shelved that initial plan and designed a Compromise Alternative. This compromise balances the needs of all communities along this portion of Highway 41 while minimizing impacts to the natural environment. However, newer members of Mount Pleasant Town Council are not honoring this compromise alternative that was carefully negotiated years ago.

If the goal for the Highway 41 corridor is to reduce traffic, the improvements SCDOT completed only months ago will only work effectively if the Laurel Hill Parkway is built. Importantly, the parkway only goes along the outskirts of the park, not through the center of it, minimizing impacts while still achieving positive outcomes for all in the community.

During the Town of Mount Pleasant’s town council meeting Tuesday, July 8, the Highway 41 improvements will be addressed. Comments from residents and stakeholders are welcome and encouraged on the Compromise Alternative for Highway 41 that seeks to equitably balance impacts to both nature and community. Please attend the meeting and sign up to speak in support of the Compromise Alternative.

This improvement project has been years in the making, and the compromise was developed out of a long process of community engagement. However, as we approach the final permit approvals before construction, misinformation has arisen and is putting this solution at risk.  Get the facts >>>

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Suggested Talking Points

Please feel free to use the below talking points in comments about this project. We encourage you to personalize your comments and add additional information.

• Impacts to wetlands and communities are minimized as much as possible through this Compromise Alternative.
• The Compromise Alternative impacts roughly half the number of properties that would have been impacted by the prior alternative.
• The Alternative only impacts the edge of Laurel Hill Park where there are no current trails or amenities.
• The project provides an opportunity to improve safety and connectivity for folks traveling on foot or by bicycle.
• The recently completed SCDOT improvements to Highway 41 will only effectively reduce traffic if the full Compromise Alternative, including the Laurel Hill Parkway component, is implemented.
• While Mount Pleasant lacks the legal authority to unilaterally break the negotiated compromise, passing resolutions opposing it flies in the face of years of thoughtful and careful stakeholder engagement.

The Phillips Community

The Phillips community is an African American settlement community founded in 1875. The Phillips community, along with the Conservation League, many advocacy groups, and hundreds of residents from across Charleston County have stood up and spoke out against the reckless proposal that would have destroyed Phillips, whose residents have been working hard for years to preserve their community while living with the scar of Highway 41 that was cut through their neighborhood in the 1940s. The Laurel Hill Park area has a complicated past as a former plantation. This history creates a stark contrast between how newer residents view the space as recreational green area versus how it is remembered by families who have lived in the area for generations.

A More Balanced Solution

The Conservation League has always worked to balance environmental protection with community needs. Accordingly, the Compromise Alternative for Highway 41 is in alignment with that careful balance. Though some wetlands will be impacted; any substantial improvements to Highway 41 including the alternative proposed in 2020 would have impacts to wetlands. With this Compromise Alternative, impacts to both wetlands and communities are minimized as much as possible and dispersed equitably throughout the project area. No single community has to bear the brunt of the impacts. Any impacts to wetlands will require mitigation in accordance with state and federal policy.