In a weeks-long string of public forums on the proposal to link Interstate 526 to the James Island Connector, officials with the state Department of Transportation repeatedly stressed that the plan wasn't their idea. It was Charleston County Council's. But when the county decided to ditch the stitch the state-created plan for a smaller route that wouldn't touch James Island, DOT backed out of the plan. Transportation Secretary Buck Limehouse told county officials that there was no other option than to complete the "state transportation link" between 526 and the connector.