There will be a ribbon-cutting event to showcase the finished Tunnel Extension Project in Charleston’s Medical District on Ehrhardt Street on Tuesday, June 11th at 10:00 a.m. The event will have speakers to discuss how the project will decrease flooding impacts in the Medical District that includes MUSC, Roper Hospital, and VA Hospital.
WHO: South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Mayor William Cogswell of Charleston; MUSC President David J. Cole, M.D., FACS; SCOR Agency Head and Chief Resilience Officer Ben Duncan; and others involved with the project.
WHAT: A ribbon-cutting event to celebrate the drainage tunnel extension project being completed at Ehrhardt Street in the Charleston Medical District.
WHEN: Tuesday, June 11th at 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: MUSC Campus, 14 Ehrhardt St behind the Institute of Psychiatry (IOP). If there is inclement weather, the ribbon-cutting will take place in the IOP auditorium.
BACKGROUND: The Charleston Medical District houses three major medical centers: MUSC, the VA, and Roper Hospital. This includes the region's leading medical university, the only Children's Hospital, and the Veterans Administration. The Medical District employs 25,000 people, treats 400,000 patients annually, and serves 75,000 veterans annually.
Now complete, the Medical District Tunnel Extension Project will mitigate flooding with a deep tunnel extension, a new surface collection and conveyance system, and a drop shaft to divert stormwater from street level into the deep tunnel and future pump systems of the US-17/Spring-Fishburne Project.
The City of Charleston received federal funding for this project allocated under a Community Development Block Grant Mitigation In excess of $10 million with a matching commitment from the City of more than $5 million. Construction began April in 2022 and substantial completion was in March of 2024, with final completion being June 2024. This project will provide security and safety to employees, patients, residents, and visitors to the area.
For more information, visit https://www.charleston-sc.gov/2564/Medical-District-Drainage-Tunnel-Extensi