June 20, 2026 · HVA Resilience Committee
The Battery Extension Comes to Lockwood Drive — Right Next Door
The City of Charleston and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are advancing the Battery Extension, a perimeter flood-protection system encircling the Peninsula. The Lockwood Drive segment runs along the western edge of Harleston Village.
What the City of Charleston’s flood-protection plan means for Harleston Village
The City of Charleston and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are moving forward with the Battery Extension, a perimeter flood-protection system that will eventually encircle the Peninsula. The segment that matters most to us is Lockwood Drive, which runs directly along the western edge of Harleston Village — one of the neighborhoods the City specifically names as “routinely at risk from flooding due to low elevations.”
What the Lockwood segment includes
The Lockwood segment stretches 7,390 linear feet from the U.S. Coast Guard station to the Ashley River bridges. Rather than a plain flood wall, the City’s optimized design is a continuous Battery-style promenade with an elevated walkway set closer to the water, paired with storm-surge barriers at the Coast Guard station and under the bridges. It is designed to do three jobs at once: hold back storm surge, manage tidal and stormwater flooding, and add public waterfront space.
Highlights within or adjacent to the segment include a new public space, the Half Moon Battery, at the bend of Broad Street and Lockwood Drive; tie-ins to the future Ashley River Crossing (bike/pedestrian bridge) and Ashley River Walk; the Lockwood Kneewall; and integration with Colonial Lake and the Spring/Fishburne deep-tunnel pump station for water storage.
Timeline
Lockwood is one of the four priority segments in the first wave of construction. The City’s estimated schedule is:
- 2026–2027: 35% design and funding
- 2028: anticipated construction start
- 2028–2031: 65% design through construction
Segments will be built to an initial height of 10 feet (NAVD88) — roughly the height of the existing High Battery — with foundations designed to later rise to 12 feet.
Cost
The Lockwood segment is estimated at $221.7 million, split 65% federal / 35% local — about $144.1 million from the Army Corps and $77.6 million in local share. (The full initial four-segment program is estimated at $613.2 million.)
Why it matters for Harleston Village
Lockwood Drive is both a critical evacuation and commuter corridor — it connects James Island and West Ashley to the Peninsula — and the low-lying edge that sends floodwater into our streets. Protecting this segment early is meant to deliver real flood-risk reduction to adjacent neighborhoods, including ours, well before the full Peninsula loop is complete, while adding a walkable waterfront promenade along the Ashley River.
A near-term companion: the Lockwood knee wall
The Battery Extension is a long-term structure that won’t reach Lockwood until the late 2020s and beyond. In the meantime, the City is advancing a separate, smaller project on the same corridor — the Lockwood knee wall, a barrier less than two feet tall designed to stop the sunny-day and king-tide flooding that closes Lockwood today. The two are meant to work hand in hand: the knee wall delivers relief now, and is designed to eventually tie into the Battery Extension — potentially helping form a stormwater “polder” once the larger wall is built.
Read more about the Lockwood knee wall →
Storm surge, tides, or rain?
Our flood projects tackle three different problems. The quick version:
| Flooding | Cause | Primary defense |
|---|---|---|
| Storm surge | Hurricanes | Battery Extension |
| Tidal / sunny-day | King tides, no storm | Knee wall now, Battery Extension later |
| Rainfall | Rain can’t drain out at high tide | Drainage & pumps + the storage basin the walls create — knee wall now, Battery Extension later |
See how all three work together →
City of Charleston — Battery Extension Project →
Source: City of Charleston, Battery Extension Project Implementation Strategy, 2026.