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Lowcountry MPO kicks off long‑range plan update, names CDM Smith and sets public engagement
Summary
Lowcountry Council staff launched an update to the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) long‑range transportation plan, selected consultant CDM Smith, set a 2027 deadline for plan adoption and outlined public engagement and financial constraints for projects programmed into the TIP.
The Lowcountry Council of Governments on Tuesday opened a multi‑year update of its Metropolitan Planning Organization long‑range transportation plan, setting a May 2027 deadline and naming CDM Smith as the consultant to lead data gathering, goals development and project prioritization.
Stephanie Rossi, planning director with the Lowcountry Council of Governments, told the regional meeting the MPO must refresh its long‑range plan every five years and will use a 2024 base year and a 2055 forecast year for modeling and project development. Rossi said the update will feed a financially constrained Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and identified $8.5 million in MPO programming funds that the region may allocate annually.
Why it matters: long‑range plans and the TIP determine which multimodal projects compete for federal funds and guide local priorities for roads, transit, bike and pedestrian improvements. Rossi said the region’s previous base year (2019) is no longer representative of current conditions and the update aims to align priorities with recent growth and travel patterns.
The process: Rossi described required MPO documents — the long‑range plan, a Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP), a public participation plan and the four‑year TIP — and said the consultant team will host multiple LATs meetings, two public meetings and an online survey. She said the MPO’s project prioritization must reflect South Carolina Department of Transportation guidance and result in a fiscally constrained plan for adoption.
Project highlights and funding constraints: Rossi summarized near‑term projects already in the TIP and noted a legacy US‑17 project that has consumed a substantial share of regional programming; she said a placeholder in past years of about $8 million will increase to roughly $9.5 million as the project advances. She also listed corridor efforts (US‑21/SE‑128 feasibility underway, US‑21/SE‑170 starting this year), Reebel Road corridor improvements (2028) and several studies completed in the last year (Bluffton Parkway, SC‑315/SC‑46 and a Northern transit study).
Next steps and public engagement: the MPO will update the regional travel demand model, conduct a call for projects tied to municipal and county capital improvement plans, and present draft recommendations to the policy committee before public release. Rossi said the team aims to have the plan adopted by May 2027 and hopes to adopt in February to allow contingency time if schedule delays occur.
Rossi: “We are allotted $8,500,000 annually to go to program projects into the Transportation Improvement Program,” a figure she said will be used when developing fiscally constrained scenarios for the region.
The meeting concluded with board members asking for deeper follow‑up presentations and for staff to circulate timeline details so jurisdictions can prepare local project submissions.
