New Catawba River bridge proposal stirs officials’ opinions
It wasn’t on the agenda Friday, but the idea of another bridge spanning the Catawba River wasn’t far from some officials’ minds as road planners hashed out major traffic needs.
The Rock Hill-Fort Mill Area Transportation Study met Friday in Rock Hill. In 2012, the group voted against further study on a bridge from the Celanese Road area in Rock Hill to the Sutton Road area in Fort Mill, saying it would use up too much annual and long-term funding.
But the Herald reported recently that Rock Hill officials want to revive talks.
Fort Mill Town Councilman Larry Huntley told RFATS members Friday that any new bridge project would need updated data on traffic patterns and the traffic it could cause. Data the last time a bridge was discussed had projected 200 cars from Massey, Huntley said, a Fort Mill subdivision that will have 2,000 homes.
“We have to completely redo the traffic study, and let’s be realistic about it,” he said.
Like Huntley, Rock Hill Planning Commission member Duane Christopher used the public comment period Friday to discuss the bridge.
“Yes, it costs money,” Christopher said. “It always costs money. We never have the money.”
Christopher argued that like expensive home repairs, communities should find resources to meet critical needs from what they have available. He would like to see a bridge study move forward.
“There are choices,” he said. “Some are easy. Some are right.”
Rock Hill Mayor Doug Echols, discussing a plan that could partner RFATS with county-run Pennies for Progress on major intersection improvements, said the bridge plan has to be a consideration in solving traffic problems.
“I don’t think you could do that without revisiting another bridge over the Catawba River,” he said.
Other road needs
A road project set for funding much sooner is the Carowinds Boulevard and Pleasant Road intersection. RFATS approved $600,000 for engineering and land acquisition Friday. The group also voted to bump an air quality study for the intersection up a priority list.
It comes from a small area study completed in January, identifying the intersection and another in Rock Hill as high congestion areas.
Other projects remain at various stages of completion. A major one, the Gold Hill connector road in Tega Cay, could see construction begin this summer. An engineer has been selected, but a construction company has not been picked yet.
“Our intent is to go to bid this spring,” said Phil Leazer, engineer with York County’s Pennies for Progress program. “Pennies” refers to a voter-approved county sales tax that funds road projects.
The Tega Cay connector, approved in a 2003 referendum for $1.5 million, would stretch from Gold Hill Road near Tega Cay Elementary School to Hubert Graham Parkway. Part of the reason for the connector is to help ease traffic congestion on S.C. 160 West.
This story was originally published February 28, 2015 at 1:46 PM with the headline "New Catawba River bridge proposal stirs officials’ opinions."