York County is getting over $3 million for bridge repairs from Hurricane Helene

A western York County bridge damaged by Hurricane Helene is getting more than $3 million for repairs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency allocated more than $9 million for 21 projects in South Carolina in the latest round of money related to Helene or Tropical Storm Debby, the agency announced this week. The largest item is $3.3 million to the South Carolina Department of Transportation to repair the North Burris Road bridge over Turkey Creek, southwest of York.

Helene is the September 2024 storm that devastated western North Carolina, but also damaged parts of neighboring states. FEMA announced $300 million in Helene-related funding for North Carolina this week. Some of the $90 million in Florida and $50 million in Tennessee announced this week is also related to Helene.

Debby hit in August 2024, making landfall in Florida as a hurricane and in South Carolina as a tropical storm. It caused widespread damage and flooding in South Carolina.

The York County bridge that received funding is west of McConnells, and south of Sharon. The state Transportation Department doesn’t list a traffic count for the road, but the nearest sites to it see 1,900 to 2,700 vehicle trips per day.

It’s on the road that runs along the edge of the nearly 400-acre Herbert Kirsch Wildlife Conservation Area.

The North Burris Road bridge is one of dozens on the state transportation department’s list of Rock Hill region bridges in need of repair or replacement. The state lists 51 bridges in York, Lancaster and Chester counties in its active repair list. Several of them border multiple counties within or on the edge of the three-county region.

There are more than 8,400 bridges in South Carolina.

Bridge repairs were a major focus of a statewide gas tax increase that began in 2017. Several bridges in the area have been repaired since. They’ve largely been in rural areas.