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More details were revealed Wednesday about Volvo’s fully electric SUV that will be built in Ridgeville – and the massive effort it will take to roll them off the assembly line.

The Volvo EX90 made its debut in November as the Swedish car company’s new fully electric vehicle.

David Stenström, Volvo Cars USA VP manufacturing Americas, said at the 12^th annual South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance Automotive Summit on Wednesday that it will feature recycled plastics for the interior, which will be all animal/leather-free, among many other top-of-the-line and sustainable features.

He said it’s been a big challenge, but they are confident in overcoming those challenges.

The biggest of those challenges being:

Fifty percent more machines will need to be installed ahead of building the EX90s at Volvo’s Ridgeville plant — in addition to 1,300 new team members to be hired for its launch. The new employees will need to undergo eight weeks of training.

It takes seven years to design, build and then launch a new vehicle, said Stenström.

“The competition will be brutal for Volvo,” said Stenström. “If you’re not out there being the first, you probably will not survive (in this industry). But there is nothing hindering us from expanding what we have today and with the right people there is nothing we can’t do.”

Volvo CEO Jim Rowan said the EX90 ushers in a new era for safety for Volvo drivers and passengers.

“Born electric, born with lidar. The start of a new era of electrification, technology and safety,” Rowan said in a video presentation at the end of September. All Volvo EX90s will come with a combination of the latest technology powered by an understanding of the car’s outside environment and the person driving the vehicle, the company said.

Greenville and Spartanburg County Councils approved Volvo Cars USA’s fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreements in October. The FILOT applies to specific sites occupied by parts makers in the Upstate to prepare the company’s Ridgeville plant for building the electric SUVs.

Stenström said by 2025, they plan for a zero-carbon neutral site, in addition to these other mid-decade business ambitions:

Long-term Volvo ambitions include climate neutral company by 2040, pure electric car company by 2030, circular business by 2040, and recognized leader in responsible business. Currently, 90% of the EX90’s build is localized.

“South Carolina is blessed to have Volvo Cars here, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds as Volvo continues to innovate and grow here,” said Sara Hazzard, president and CEO of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance.

RIDGEVILLE — Residents from just outside town have filed a lawsuit in Dorchester County to stop the development of a little over 1,000 acres of land recently annexed into the town’s borders.

Barbara Richardson and her daughter Kimberly Marchand, who live outside the town limits of Ridgeville, claim the annexation and rezoning of two tracts of land south of downtown — from agricultural-residential to planned unit development — in February does not conform with Ridgeville’s comprehensive plan.

Ryan Homes, part of Virginia-based NVR Inc., is the developer for the Varn Tract. Lennar Construction is the developer for the Appleby Tract. Both are planning to build single-family homes — a maximum 1,200 for Ryan Homes, 1,400 for Lennar Construction — as well as commercial space and parks.

Critics of these plans point out that this planned development will quadruple the town’s population and change the rural character of the area.

In the lawsuit, Richardson and Marchand argue that by annexing and rezoning the tracts for development, the town is out of compliance with its 2015 Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Maps, which guide the town in how to develop the area and which, when passed in 2016, did not include plans to develop the two tracts.

The lawsuit goes on to argue infrastructure in the area will not support the plans, pointing out “the Appleby Tract, 446 acres and slated for 1,200 homes, is located on Campbell Thicket Road, most of which is currently an unpaved dirt road.”

Andy Gowder, the attorney representing Richardson and Marchand, said it’s state law that all rezonings must align with comprehensive plans.

“It’s important to have comprehensive planning and not zoning decisions that are made parcel by parcel,” Gowder said. “That’s why the law is structured the way it is. These rezonings really undo the comprehensive planning that’s been done.”

The lawsuit states the comprehensive plan has not been updated since it was first adopted in 2016. While the state does require local governments to review comprehensive plans every five years, the plan only needs to be updated or replaced every 10 years.

Marvin Pendarvis, the attorney representing the town of Ridgeville, said he believes the town is in the right as far as the comprehensive plan, what it represents and how the town intends to grow as a result goes.

“The comprehensive plan is the guiding document by which zoning and regulations operate within,” Pendarvis said. “We believe we’re on solid, legal ground, so to make the decisions based off of what’s best for the town, so we’ll defend it accordingly.”

Richardson is one of several area residents who raised concerns during a Feb. 14 town council meeting when the four-member council unanimously voted to annex and rezone the property. While Richardson does live outside the town limits, her house is just outside the southwest end of the Varn Tract. She has expressed concerns that after the development, her property will back up to a busy and traffic-filled neighborhood.

Multiple attendees at the meeting also raised concerns about whether roads, water and sewer would support the influx, as well as whether property taxes would increase on already existing homes and the environmental impact on the town.

Dorchester County has grown quickly in the past two decades, with more than 60,000 people moving in since 2000. The county is projected to have more than 200,000 residents by 2030.

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – Crews are responding to a serious crash near Ridgeville.

Officials say two vehicles were involved in a Tuesday afternoon collision along Highway 178.

Details about the crash are limited. Motorists should expect delays when traveling in the area or find an alternate route.

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Construction on Interstate 26, widening it to three lanes each way in parts of Berkeley and Dorchester Counties will begin soon.

Published: Tue Oct 11 2022

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Construction on Interstate 26, widening it to three lanes each way in parts of Berkeley and Dorchester Counties will begin soon.

State officials gathered Tuesday to announce the official start of construction on seven miles between Jedburg Road and SC-27. SCDOT says the stretch initially was set to cost $218 million. But thanks to the legislature approving $320 million in June, the project is being moved up an estimated six years.

Gov. Henry McMaster addressed the officials gathered saying South Carolina is booming in terms of business and tourism.

“In a nutshell, this is the product and the result of a vision, common sense, talent and determination by the people that are here today. That commerce is thriving in South Carolina and there really is no end in sight. We’re doing it right,” McMaster says.

SCDOT estimates more than 22 million vehicles use I-26 every year. That includes tourists, families, trucks and commuters. Rick Todd is the President & CEO of S.C. Trucking Association, a 90-year-old alliance of businesses. He calls I-26 the central nervous system of the State of South Carolina for tourism, commerce and commuters.

“Our transportation distribution and logistics sectors thrive on efficiency. Efficient use of time, equipment and fuel, all of which is very costly. So when this corridor opens up and spreads out, that velocity will become even greater. And that is the competitive advantage and the quality of life improvement that our leaders are investing in,” Todd says.

McMaster and others noted that as South Carolina grows as a hub for major business and manufacturing headquarters, the infrastructure needs to grow at the same rate. Sara Hazzard is the President & CEO of the S.C. Manufacturers Alliance. She says more than 5,000 call South Carolina home creating an estimated annual economic impact of more than $200 billion.

“As manufacturers continue to confront and tackle global supply chain disruptions, it is more important than ever that South Carolina to improve and modernize our state’s transportation infrastructure system which is critical to manufacturers’ success,” Hazzard says.

The stretch from mile marker 187 to mile marker 194 is all part of a nearly $2 billion investment widening from Charleston to Columbia. Bob Morgan is President & CEO of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce. He says South Carolina is the 10th fastest growing state in the country and projects like widening I-26 are an essential part of continuing to grow.

“This will help companies address the supply chain challenges that are so critical. It will help them get product to market faster. It will help all companies who enjoy the river of commerce here and elsewhere in our state.”

SCDOT awarded Banks Construction the bid for work. SCDOT Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall says the company is pledging that $13 million in work on this project will be done by small and minority-owned businesses with the majority of materials being sourced from South Carolina.

“All of that is homegrown and is amplifying the impact of a single road project. Think about that. The ramifications of what that investment does to our economy,” Hall says.

Hall says the state is looking forward to announcing more portions of the project next year.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

RIDGEVILLE — The relocation of the Dorchester Heritage Center is slowly beginning, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the REV Pavilion.

The Leadership Dorchester class, hosted by the Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce, helped by raising $60,000 to build the first structure of the new center: the REV Pavilion, which opened to the public Oct. 22. It was named for the REV Federal Credit Union, one of the sponsors for the project.

The leadership class requires each year’s participants to do a project that leaves a lasting impact on the county, said class member Rebecca Collett of Collett Media.

Collett said the class of 24 unanimously decided to help with the relocation and construction of the pavilion.

Justin Lee, a member of the class and executive director of operations at Gilbert & Lee Construction, said part of the reason the class chose the project was to feature nonprofits.

“We wanted to bridge the gap between western Dorchester County and the Greater Summerville area,” Lee said.

The leadership class had $7,000 left over from what it raised for the pavilion. It gave to the Heritage Center, which will honor the people in Dorchester County and help with historic grave preservation, Collett said.

“The center being located somewhat in the center of the county, I think it will gain lots of foot traffic since it’s in a very convenient place for everyone,” Lee said.

Lee anticipates breaking ground around March, and hopes to finish construction in the summer of 2024.

The Dorchester Heritage Center is a nonprofit that opened in 2014. Currently in the Dorchester County Courthouse in St. George, the center started small with just an archives genealogical library but grew to open a 4,000-square-foot museum in 2017.

Within 5½ weeks of the museum opening, over 3,000 people had visited. The center’s goal is to preserve the county’s history, said Phyllis Hughes, chairman of the Dorchester Heritage Center.

Over time, people began bringing in artifacts and all sorts of pictures, papers and rare books. After obtaining over 500,000 historical items, Hughes said they’ve outgrown the space, which led to a search for a new location.

They found and purchased an 81-acre site in Ridgeville, which is more convenient to the county as a whole and includes lots of space for new additions.

The new site will include a 20,000-square-foot center with indoor and outdoor event space, state-of-the-art archives, multipurpose conference rooms, a genealogy library, a museum and a green room, which will be used as a recording studio so “anyone can come in, sit down and tell their story.”

Outside of the heritage center, Hughes said there are other plans for the property. There will be walking trails, owl posts and birdhouses. The Boy Scouts will be involved with the wildlife aspect, with the opportunity to possibly monitor birdhouses on a monthly basis and earn merit badges, Hughes said.

“We want to become kind of a gateway to the county where people can come in and we can direct them to all the historic sites in our county,” Hughes said.

While waiting for the new facility to be built, the Dorchester Heritage Center will host classes throughout the county. On Nov. 17 at the community center in Ridgeville, it will kick off a new lecture series about the first Carolinians and will include the chiefs of the Edisto Natchez-Kusso and Wassamasaw Native American tribes as guest speakers.