May 3, 2018 – Summerville, Berkeley County, and state leaders cut the ribbon on the Nexton Interchange Parkway Thursday morning in honor of the completion of the project. The project broke ground in 2015. It finished months ahead of schedule and millions of dollars under budget.
“With the growth that we have in Berkeley County, it’s imperative that we have the infrastructure improvements necessary to move people,” Berkeley County Supervisor Bill Peagler said. “We get things done.”
The parkway runs from 176 near Cane Bay to Highway 78.
There are already plans to expand this project further.
“The town of Summerville is going to improve Maple Street and carry it through to Central Avenue. This gives folks on the west end of town a way to I-26 that doesn’t force them through Main Street,” Summerville Town council member Christine Czarnik said. “We finally have the relief that we’ve been looking for.”
“Right now there’s one way in and out of Summerville into Berkeley County. This becomes an alternative and starts to form a northern beltway for Berkeley County,” Vice President of Nexton Brent Gibadlo said.
That alternate route promises to alleviate traffic throughout the area, especially near Main Street.
Peagler said 19,000 cars are estimated to use the parkway daily.
“It’s going to be a major connection between Cane Bay and western Summerville folks who have to go through Main Street every day to get anywhere,” SCDOT commissioner Robby Robbins said.
“If you have an extra 30 minutes or hour each day, that’s an hour you can spend doing things you want to do instead of commuting places,” Gibadlo said.
Drivers can start using the Nexton Parkway Interchange Monday after workers put the finishing seal on it.