What’s next major road project in Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Tega Cay? Here’s an update.
Even amid wet and cold wintry conditions, York County roadwork continues to roll toward better intersections and wider roads for the growing number of local drivers. Much of that work involves plan reviews more than paving.
Patrick Hamilton, director of the county Pennies for Progress program, updated the Rock Hill-Fort Mill Area Transportation Study policy committee about ongoing projects. The Pennies program is the cent sales tax voted on by York County residents every seven years to pay for road improvements.
The most recent referendum in 2017 has several large projects coming.
Those projects include:
▪ Widening Cel-River Road to five lanes from Eden Terrace to Dave Lyle Boulevard, and extending Galleria Boulevard, is a $40.5 million project. The work picks up from recent widening on Cel-River from the 2011 Pennies vote. Right-of-way acquisition should start in the next month for Galleria with a construction bid coming by year’s end. Right-of-way likely won’t start on the Cel-River piece until next year.
Estimates show Galleria completed by 2021 and Cel-River by 2025.
▪ A $23 million project is underway at Sutton Road, Spratt Street and Fort Mill Parkway. A five-lane widening from Interstate 77, across U.S. 21 and Spratt Street in Fort Mill, to just short of the railroad track bridge near U.S. Foods will have early plans submitted to the South Carolina Department of Transportation in February.
“That means we have our alignment finalized, the profile of it,” Hamilton said.
After plans are reviewed, county staff can start purchasing right-of-way likely next year. Construction should start in 2024 and finish the following year.
A separate, standalone project from the 2011 Pennies vote involves a $9 million improvement where Fort Mill Parkway meets Spratt and Sutton. Final plans have been submitted to SCDOT and a construction bid could come by summer or fall. Completion is expected next year.
“We’re trying to wrap those plans up now,” Hamilton said.
▪ The Hubert Graham Way extension is a combination of county and developer work to connect the original Tega Cay cut-through with Dry Run Road. The $2.8 million county portion aims to be finished next year.
Right-of-way acquisition has started, and Pennies leaders met with area property owners. A construction bid should follow later this year.
▪ Right-of-way plans are in the works for S.C. 49, 274 and 557 in Lake Wylie. The $7.3 million intersection improvement should be done by 2022.
“This is the major intersection in Lake Wylie,” Hamilton said.
Early plans have been submitted to SCDOT and the county should start buying right-of-way later this year.
▪ The U.S. 21 and Springdale Road project in the Catawba area of Rock Hill, Sutton Road intersections in Fort Mill, the Cherry/Celanese roads intersection and U.S. 21 from Springfield Parkway to S.C. 160 have early right-of-way work ongoing.
More projects
Projects approved before the last Pennies vote are nearing opening dates. One is open, a six-month rebuild of almost 2 miles of Cherry Road near Winthrop University.
“We had to rebuild the road from scratch,” Hamilton said. “We had to dig down 13 inches, remove everything that was there and rebuild the road while maintaining close to 30,000 vehicles a day of traffic. This was a very cumbersome project.”
Other major ongoing projects include:
▪ The $12.5 million I-77 and Gold Hill Road interchange project is expected to open in June 2021 .
“You see a good bit of the clearing and drubbing work going on there,” Hamilton said. “It will be a diverging diamond interchange.”
South Carolina Department of Transportation data shows more than 120,000 vehicle trips a day on the interstate and 10,000 or more vehicles on the roads leading to it already face congestion at peak times.
“The majority of work will be done at night,” Hamilton said. “There are no daytime lane closures.”
▪ S.C. 160 West from Zoar Road and the North Carolina line will widen to five lanes, including a new traffic signal at Zoar. Sidewalks are in. There still asphalt to go down on the west side of S.C. 160 West, Hamilton said, before traffic can shift to the new lanes.
Wet and cold weather has delayed the shift to spring. The entire $13 million project is still expected to wrap up by September.
▪ Part of S.C. 274 will become five lanes and Pole Branch road three lanes as part of a $37.8 million widening project in Lake Wylie. Half of the bridge over Mill Creek on S.C. 274 is under construction.
“Once they build that portion of bridge, they’ll then shift traffic, tear down the existing bridge and then build the remaining portion of that five-lane bridge,” Hamilton said.
Two bridges on Pole Branch will be replaced. Pole Branch remains in a six-month detour until May or June. Project completion is expected next year.
▪ The Anderson and Cowan Farm roads intersection work in Rock Hill should wrap up this spring., missing the opening target last November.
▪ Several Pennies for Progress jobs from the 2011 referendum are in right-of-way acquisition now. Widening of S.C. 557 in Lake Wylie is down to one parcel, and a construction bid could come this fall. The U.S. 21 and Highway 51 project near Fort Mill could wrap up right-of-way this summer to bid for construction next year. A three-lane widening of S.C. 160 East going into Lancaster County could bid for construction late this year.
It’s the same timeline for Riverview Road in Rock Hill. The S.C. 72 widening is a little later in its schedule.
For more information about these projects, visit penniesforprogress.net.
