Charleston City Council to consider contract for Hagood Avenue Improvement Plan

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Charleston city leaders are expected to vote on a contract Tuesday evening, which may bring flood relief to Hagood Avenue.

Hagood Avenue is surrounded by The Citadel, Joe Riley Stadium, homes, and schools in downtown Charleston. For years, it has been prone to sunny day flooding, which inundates the road during high tide. The first phase of the long-awaited project is on the council’s agenda, which had little success in the past.

“There’s about 12 layers of asphalt and it’s time for us to stop putting a band aid on it,” William Dudley Gregorie, city councilman for District 6, said.

City leaders are assessing the road’s condition and are considering a contract with an engineering company. They will be expected to create a master plan, an environmental analysis, and a new design. Officials plan to act quickly, as the polluted water has been known to affect nearby residents.

“The idea is to keep the water off the road. The water – it’s been tested, it’s not great for people to be in and a lot of kids from Gadsden Green have been in water and around that water,” Logan McVey, chief policy officer of the City of Charleston, said. “It’s gets into their life and their houses.”

“It’s worsened over time, and I’ve seen people stranded. I’ve seen waves as high as 20 feet when people are driving through it. I’ve seen kids having to cross it,” Gregorie said.

The councilman tells News 2, he has lived through the many years of temporary repairs to Hagood Avenue. The improvement plan was previously brought up to council in 2023, but fell through. Gregorie added now multiple organizations including the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Charleston Housing Authority are coming together with city council to make this happen.

“It’s very important for this to be fixed. We have the Citadel, the College of Charleston, the Westside Neighborhood. We have our EMS – everybody transfers through this area. So, it’s a public safety hazard and I’m glad that we’re finally moving forward to do something about it.”

Officials said it may be a costly project, but will benefit the surrounding community.

“The benefit for finally fixing this is going to be greatly, greatly appreciated by everyone in this neighborhood,” said Gregorie.

“This is about finding a more permanent fix. I think it will be expensive but everything going on over there, we want to make sure to keep the residents safe and keep dirty water away from people – and make the roadway usable again. I think Hagood Avenue is not really much of a road as a pond these days,” McVey said. “The more we can do to make that actually a roadway, serve the community around it, and do some streetscaping. Make it kind of a beautiful, nice place to live as opposed to a four lane mini interstate in the middle of the neighborhood. I think it would be beneficial to everybody there.”

City council is expected vote on the approval of the contract during their meeting Tuesday, beginning at 5 p.m.