Albright Road $12 million widening project nearly finished | Rock Hill Herald

Contractors are hoping to finish the Albright Road widening project next month.

The $12 million project has converted Albright Road (S.C. 121) from a two-lane road to a five-lane highway. York County officials say the road construction will help relieve congestion in the area.

Albright Road is an important connector for drivers traveling from Interstate 77 toward Mount Holly Road (S.C. 901). With just two lanes, the highway was acting as a “funnel point” for traffic, says Phil Leazer, York County’s road construction program manager.

Between the interstate and Mount Holly Road in Rock Hill’s southern reaches, Albright Road was the last remaining two-lane stretch of highway. Adding more lanes, Leazer said, will help traffic flow more efficiently during peak hours.

Leazer oversees the county’s “Pennies for Progress” program, which uses a 1-cent sales tax in York County to help pay for new road construction. The program started in 1997 when York County voters approved the new tax.

Since then, voters have twice approved extending the 1-cent tax to pay for road improvements. The Albright Road project is the last one from the 1997 list of projects.

Leazer said the Albright Road construction is about 90 percent complete and the new traffic lanes will open when crews have finished paving. The road work started in mid-2012.