Hurricane lane reversal exercise set for Thursday

COLUMBIA - The South Carolina Department of Public Safety will conduct a hurricane evacuation exercise on Thursday to test lane reversal plans for all three major coastal areas of the state. Hurricane season began June 1 and ends November 30. Please note that no traffic lanes will actually be reversed during this exercise.

This hurricane evacuation exercise is designed to test lane reversal plans for Interstate 26, U.S. 21, U.S. 278, U.S. 501 and S.C. 544 in the event of a mandatory coastal evacuation order. Personnel and equipment from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, the South Carolina Department of Transportation, State Law Enforcement Division, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardons will participate in the exercise. 

The exercise will simulate reversal operations on U.S. 278 and U.S. 21. No deployment of equipment or personnel will be made on these roads leading out of Hilton Head and Beaufort. SCDOT equipment will be stationed near the traffic circle at S.C. 46 and S.C. 170 in the Bluffton area and along U.S. 278 from Almenda to Hampton in Hampton County.

Law enforcement personnel and traffic control devices will be deployed on Interstate-26 from the intersection of I-526 and I-26 in Charleston to I-77 and I-26 in Columbia. 

Traffic control equipment and personnel will be stationed on U.S. 501 beginning at S.C. 544 and ending at U.S. 378 as well as between S.C. 22 and the Marion By-Pass. 

Aerial units from SLED, the Civil Air Patrol, South Carolina National Guard and the South Carolina Forestry Commission will be flying assigned aerial surveillance routes. SCDOT will also deploy Incident Response Vehicles.   

The exercise should not interfere with the flow of traffic. Intersections will not be blocked, and motorists will be allowed to move freely. However, the Highway Patrol cautions motorists traveling I-26, U.S. 501, and S.C. 544 as well as U.S. 278 in Hampton County and SC 46 and SC 170 in the Bluffton area to exercise due caution and be aware that law enforcement officers and state personnel will be located on the shoulder of the highway and at exits. The exercise will last from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.