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Squire Pope Road/Gumtree Road Roundabout Project

Status Update

Work is continuing on the Squire Pope Road / Gumtree Road roundabout.  Workers will be installing the base and intermediate paving courses for the western side of the roundabout adjacent to the Bluewater Resort this week.  The work in this area has generated the need to redesign the intersection to align the northern leg of Squire Pope Road with Gumtree, and to bring in the southern leg of Squire Pope Road to a “stop” condition.  The work to landscape and seed the project’s shoulders and areas adjacent to the relocated pathways has begun in earnest, and this effort will culminate in the installation of generous amounts of landscaping in the roundabout’s interior.  Final placement of the remainder of the surface asphalt is expected to occur beginning Monday, May 5th.  It is currently forecast that the roundabout will be fully constructed, striped with traffic paint, and opened to all traffic movements at some point during the week of Monday, May 12th. 

The existing T-intersection of Squire Pope Road with Gumtree Road is being reconstructed as a roundabout intersection beginning in February 2008.  Work on the project is expected to be completed by mid-April of 2008.  The roundabout intersection will be converted to a four-leg intersection with the additional leg serving the Bluewater Resort located opposite Gumtree Road on the north side of Squire Pope Road, which is scheduled to open in 2008.  

Project Location Map

The Bluewater Resort is slightly offset from the existing approach of Gumtree Road to Squire Pope Road, and the approach of Gumtree Road is being relocated slightly to the north in order to align with its new entrance.  Squire Pope Road is being relocated slightly to the east in the vicinity of the new roundabout’s construction in order to make room for the project, and the center of the roundabout will be located in what has previously been an agricultural field located to the northeast of the previously existing intersection. 

The new roundabout will incorporate an interior and exterior diamters of 105 and 175 feet, respectively.  The width of the circulating roadway will be 32 feet, with an additional adjoining truck apron on the interior side, in order to provide ample room for maneuvering by heavy vehicles.  The truck apron will be installed using decorative oyster-shell aggregate concrete.  A single approach lane and departure lane will be provided for on each of the roundabout’s intersecting streets, with the exception of the Gumtree Road approach and departure onto northbound Squire Pope Road, which will consist of two lanes.  This will allow the Town to stripe a free-flowing right-turn from Gumtree Road onto northbound Squire Pope Road that will allow motorists making this turn to bypass the YIELD into the roundabout in much the same fashion as the right-turn lanes at Sea Pines Circle. 

Arial Photograph of Construction area with Conceptual Drawing OverlayExisting pathways adjoining Squire Pope Road and Gumtree Road will be relocated around the new roundabout, and pedestrian crossings will be provided on three of the roundabout’s entering streets.  A new pathway is being constructed on the west side of Squire Pope Road between the roundabout and Hudson’s Road to eliminate the existing mid-block crossing that is located near Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church at 382 Squire Pope Road by relocating this crossing to a point adjacent to the new roundabout. 

An ambitious landscaping plan has been developed by the Town and incorporated into this project that will result in a large amount of beautification in both the interior and exterior of the new roundabout.  Palmetto trees, live oaks, southern magnolia trees, and eastern red cedar trees will be featured in addition to a number of lower-level shrubs. 

This project is being constructed at a cost of approximately $1 million dollars.  The developers of the Bluewater Resort are contributing to the costs of the project via impact fees and an up-front contribution.  When completed, the roundabout is forecast to efficiently serve traffic demands at this intersection for the foreseeable future, and to the year 2025 and beyond.  The roundabout’s construction will avoid the need to signalize this intersection with intrusive signals and the associated recurring operating and maintenance costs.  The roundabout is also expected to result in a much safer intersection, since they tend to eliminate the higher-speed right-angle collisions that may occur at a more conventional cross-type intersection.  Most collisions occurring at roundabouts are relatively minor low-speed rear-end collisions that may occur on the roundabout’s approaches. 

The Town has retained J-S Construction, Inc. of Bluffton, SC to construct the project and Coleman-Snow Consultants, LLC of North Charleston, SC  to provide on-site construction management and inspection.  Coleman-Snow Consultants, LLC is also providing management services on the Town’s ongoing Mathews Drive widening project, and recently provided successful management of the recent project to widen US 278 on the mainland between Simmonsville Road and Fording Island Road Extended.  J-S Construction, Inc. has constructed many transportation projects for the Town, most notably the recently completed Pope Avenue pathways that are a feature in the Town’s central beach district.  Mr. Darrin A. Shoemaker, P.E. is managing the project for the Town and can be reached at 341-4774.