Public urged to weigh-in on I-526 extension

The public is getting a chance to say what should be studied as the state eyes completion of the Mark Clark Expressway wrapping around the inland side of Charleston.
   
The Department of Transportation has set a meeting Thursday as well as two next week on what issues should be considered in an environmental impact statement.
   
Completing the expressway on Charleston’s southwest side could cost an estimated $420 million. Advocates say it will ease traffic congestion.
   
But earlier this year, the Southern Environmental Law Center urged officials to rethink the project. Opponents don’t like plans to fill about 100 acres of wetlands and worry it will affect wildlife habitat.