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Developers, DOT and council clash over traffic at proposed Jasper Telfair PDD; council schedules workshop
Summary
A proposed 30-acre PDD at Highway 17 and 315 (Jasper Telfair) drew sharp council scrutiny over left-turn movements and truck acceleration lanes; developers said DOT approved full-movement access but council asked for a workshop with DOT before third reading.
The Jasper Telfair planned development district (PDD) and associated five-year development agreement — a proposal for roughly 340,000 square feet of warehouse/light-industrial space on 30 acres at the intersection of US 17 and Highway 315 — prompted the longest and most contested discussion at the March 16 meeting.
Planning staff presented the concept plan and a revised traffic-impact study showing an expected 1,322 new daily vehicle trips related to the development and recommended turn-storage lanes and other mitigation. Stantec served as the county’s third-party reviewer. South Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) engineers provided concurrence (email in the file) for full-movement access at the proposed Highway 17 driveway, staff and the applicant said.
Several councilmembers pushed back, citing safety worries about left-turn movements onto four-lane US 17 and about trucks merging or accelerating into heavy traffic toward Savannah. “Safety isn’t convenient,” a county staff traffic reviewer said in the meeting, noting staff recommended restricting left-out movements on Highway 17 to reduce conflict points. The applicant’s traffic engineer said DOT’s warrant analysis and traffic counts did not show a need for an acceleration lane toward Savannah at present, and DOT’s district traffic engineer had provided concurrence for the full-movement plan after reviewing projected volumes.
Developer representatives said the driveway location was coordinated with SCDOT as part of earlier widening plans and that the parcel’s access was centered between adjacent crossovers to meet spacing standards. They also noted that restricting access could force vehicles to travel farther to turn and create U-turns at other locations.
Council members remained concerned about future growth — including port and I-95 freight trends — and asked staff to convene a dedicated workshop with DOT to examine the traffic analysis, mitigation timing and whether additional acceleration or deceleration lanes will be warranted as growth occurs. Staff and the developer agreed to participate; council approved both second readings (PDD and development agreement) but directed that a workshop with DOT be scheduled before the third reading.
What happens next: Staff will schedule a workshop with DOT and stakeholders to review traffic-mitigation options and future-traffic scenarios; the PDD will return for final consideration after the workshop.
