News - Local/State

Wednesday, Dec. 03, 2008

Dave Lyle traffic relief on way

It'll probably be spring, though, before new lanes and signals are installed

Drivers fed up with traffic snarls on Dave Lyle Boulevard are closer to getting some relief: Improvements finally have taken shape, in the form of added turn lanes, more left-turn signals and better traffic flow.

The bad news? Nothing will happen until late spring.

That's when city officials expect to finalize upgrades aimed at easing congestion on a notorious stretch sometimes referred to as "malfunction junction."

The city has worked on the changes for more than two years, but it took until this fall to get a formal proposal to the state Department of Transportation.

"You don't want to design something that DOT will not approve," said city project manager Phil Okey. "At the end of the day, it's their road. They have the final say on what changes will be allowed."

The changes, which the DOT recently approved, include more turn lanes, added capacity in those lanes and additional protected left-turn signals. Construction costs are pegged at $107,500.

More traffic expected

In 2001, roughly 21,000 cars per day traveled the one-mile segment of Dave Lyle Boulevard closest to Interstate 77.

By 2025, traffic is projected to more than double to about 49,000 cars per day.

It's all because of an influx of chain restaurants and big-box retailers that outpaces what city officials foresaw in the late 1990s when Manchester Village was being built.

Now, more stores are on the way on I-77's eastern side, where work starts soon to turn woods behind the Rock Hill Galleria into a $144 million shopping complex that eventually will equal the size of Manchester.

The plans add more urgency to correcting flaws that create daily frustrations for commuters, shoppers and visitors.

One example is at the intersection next to Books-A-Million, where drivers leaving Texaco and Wendy's must make awkward left turns as they exit the shopping center.

Under one scenario, drivers would be forced to turn right and take longer routes to get back to Dave Lyle. That idea already is generating skepticism from City Council members.

"I feel like we're taking a street and routing it through a parking lot," Councilman Kevin Sutton said at a recent meeting.

"I just don't think it passes the common-sense test," added Councilman John Gettys.

Some improvements already have been made. In May, crews installed protected left-turn signals for drivers getting onto Dave Lyle Boulevard between the Olive Garden and Jack-in-the Box restaurants.

Traffic planners hope the other changes will be in place before next summer.