SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (AP) - The Department of Transportation now knows what people think about plans to cut down trees along Interstate 26.
More than 150 people turned out at a public hearing in Summerville on Tuesday and the main sentiment was that the trees along 23 miles of the interstate between Summerville and Interstate 95 should be left alone.
The department wants to remove the trees to improve safety along the interstate where 44 people died between 2007 and 2011.
Some at the hearing said cutting the trees won’t make the highway safer but getting drivers to slow down will. Others said that cutting the trees will take away from the beauty of the highway leading into Charleston.
The state says the number of deaths is 20 percent higher than for similar expressways elsewhere.
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