NEWS

Q&Amy: Road work in Clemson, Greer, Travelers Rest

Amy Clarke Burns
aburns@greenvillenews.com

The orange cones go up, the questions come out.

You've had lots of questions about road projects going on around the area, so here's a round-up of three ongoing projects, the work that's being done and when it should be finished.

Q: The railroad bridge at Tiger Boulevard and College Avenue in Clemson has been under construction for years. It was begun but stopped halfway through. What's going on? When will the project be completed?

Amy in short: This is the stickiest project in today's round-up. What began four years ago as a way to improve traffic flow at the congested intersection hit a roadblock about two years ago and has been on hold. Work should recommence in the next few months.

A bit more: The bridge that spans College Avenue (State 133) just north of the intersection is the real problem here. A support column for the bridge is in the road's median, making it impossible to add more turn lanes onto U.S. 123/76 (Tiger Boulevard) heading east. There is currently only one left turn lane, and it's overwhelmed.

"That's really, from that direction, the only way that people get into town," said Stephanie Jackson-Amell, district construction engineer for the state Department of Transportation.

"In order for SCDOT to eliminate this bottleneck, the existing overpass bridge and interior support must be removed and replaced with a bridge that fully spans (State) 133," added Emily Toler, program manager for the state Department of Transportation.

The project began in July 2010 but was suspended two years later when there was a snafu with the railroad.

A detour bridge had been constructed that would move railroad traffic off the old bridge so that it could be demolished. Switching rails, though, made it impossible for Amtrak trains to access the passenger platform that's just 500 feet away from the overpass.

"We are in the process of putting together an agreement with SCDOT, Amtrak and the city of Clemson so that work can resume on the railroad bridge," Jackson-Amell said.

Work is projected to get going again come spring. Completing the new bridge and widening the road to add the turn lane should take an additional 10 to 12 months, she said.

The $11 million project is funded in part by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.

Q: How long before they finish the new entrance and exit at U.S. 25 and State 11? They seem very close to completing this project, but I haven't seen any activity for several weeks.

Amy in short: This interchange improvement project has been ongoing since September 2013. It should be wrapping up in spring 2015, according to the Department of Transportation.

A bit more: A 2009 traffic study showed the intersection of U.S. 25 and the ramps leading to State 11 was operating at what SCDOT called an "unacceptable level of service."

The redesign will create a partial cloverleaf where on and off ramps will converge to two controlled intersections on State 11, much like a traditional interstate exit. And there'll be acceleration and deceleration lanes for entering and exiting traffic on U.S. 25.

"Once the interchange is fully operational, access onto and off Highway 11 and U.S. 25 will no longer require vehicles to turn across opposing traffic," said Jackson-Amell, the SCDOT district construction engineer.

Crash data showed that the majority of crashes at the interchange involved vehicles turning left onto U.S. 25 from the State 11 on ramp, said Toler, the SCDOT program manager.

"By eliminating left turn movements onto and off of U.S. 25, the proposed design will mitigate the occurrence of severe, high-speed, angle crashes," she said.

U.S. 25 will also be resurfaced as part of the $2.7 million project.

Q: The intersection of North Rutherford Road and State 290 (Locust Hill Road) has been under construction for many months. No activity has taken place. What is the delay?

Amy in short: Actually, this project to add turn lanes to the Greer intersection is coming together in pretty good time, at least by DOT standards.

A bit more: Left turn lanes are being installed on each leg of the intersection, said Jackson-Amell, the SCDOT district construction engineer.

There was a brief delay in road work while utilities were relocated, but progress is once again underway here. Asphalt was scheduled to be laid this week.

The $790,000 project was begun in April 2014 and will conclude in spring 2015.

Incidentally, left turn signals are not included in this project, though crews are installing the wiring for them in case future traffic flow warrants the addition.

Got a question? Send it to Q&Amy by emailing me at aburns@greenvillenews.com or calling 864-298-3822. You can find me on Twitter at @QandAmyNews.