Image by SCDOT A proposed alternative to the I-526 reworking as of January 2010.

After a vote for $138 million in additional funding for a now $558 million extension of I-526 across Johns and James islands, idealogical battle lines are settling in.

If there was much doubt before, a press conference on Thursday by the City of Charleston and I-526 sealed it. Mayor Joe Riley took point to call allegations of the highway being an example of corruption as a "reckless" comments.

The day before Coastal Conservation League leader Dana Beach gathered with Tea Party affiliates, environmentalists, and civil rights leaders with a driving message that, "It's indisputable that the state Transportation Infrastructure Bank is a slush fund."

South Carolina Radio Network writes, in part:

Saying Governor Nikki Haley's proposed ethics reform does not go far enough, several conservative groups have made what they call an "unusual alliance" with environmentalists to push for a major overhaul of the state's ethics laws.

“I think we’ve been too soft in talking about ethics. What we’re really talking about is corruption,” South Carolina Policy Council President Ashley Landess told reporters in a Wednesday briefing, “That’s what’s been happening in our state for a long time. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s good or right.”

The forecast holds true, stay tuned for more I-526 headlines flooding your news streams.