South Carolina Test Highway Lane Reversals for Evacutaion

Law enforcement officials are gearing up for hurricane season by practicing lane reversals for highways leading to the South Carolina coast.

There were no actual lane reversals during last Thursday’s all-day exercise, although law enforcement personnel were deployed to areas where they would be needed in the event a hurricane threatens.

In lane reversals, eastbound traffic lanes are changed to westbound to allow faster evacuation of coastal areas.

The exercise is testing lane reversals for U.S. 21 and U.S. 278 on the south coast, Interstate 26 between Charleston and Columbia and U.S. 501 and S.C. 544 in the Myrtle Beach area.

Personnel from the Department of Public Safety and six other state agencies participated.