Council approves change order to modify Cane Bay roundabout after safety review; debate over full redesign

Berkeley County's public utilities and operations discussions led the council to approve a change order to improve safety at the Cane Bay Boulevard roundabout near Nexton Parkway.

Staff presented a traffic-engineer-led corridor study that recommended safety and operational changes. The presenting engineer said the recommended immediate modifications would "make it safe safer a lot faster" and estimated that the hybrid fix "will correct it until the year 2040," with a projected need to re-evaluate about 15 years from now. Council members asked whether a full redesign now would be faster or more durable; staff said a full redesign could take longer to design and procure and would be significantly more expensive.

Council members emphasized public safety and urged prompt action. Councilman Pinkney said the county should "move as quickly as we can with this change order" to reduce the risk to residents; other members urged doing the full redesign if the cost and timeline justified it. Staff noted mobilization costs of about $22,000 and described the whole package as roughly a $1.8 million project in committee discussion; the contractor would need to mill and restripe pavement as part of the work.

After debate about timing and scope, the committee approved the change order and associated resurfacing from the roundabout to Highway 176 so that crews mobilized for the roundabout work could also address the adjacent poor-condition pavement.

The committee directed staff to return with design details and cost breakdowns for longer-term options while proceeding with the approved change order to improve safety quickly.