Morning traffic: Wreck reported on alternate route near Rock Hill I-77 bridge work
The morning rush on I-77 started smooth Tuesday morning, though there were backups and delays on alternate routes.
An incident on the interstate was reported later in the rush hour, in Chester County. At 8:39 a.m. highway patrol reported an incident on northbound I-77 at exit 65 involving a pedestrian in the roadway. Further information wasn’t given. A little before 9 a.m. the incident still was listed as in progress.
Traffic cameras nearest the incident are more than 10 miles north, in Rock Hill. They didn’t show any major traffic impact as of 9 a.m. By 9:40 a.m., the incident was cleared.
The bigger traffic impact came nearer the Catawba River.
Work is being done on the I-77 bridge between Rock Hill and Fort Mill. Four southbound lanes are closed for bridge deck replacement. Two lanes of traffic each way are combined into what normally would be the four northbound lanes. The project runs through May 24.
At 6 a.m. Tuesday, traffic flowed slower but steady (the speed limit is 45 mph during construction) near the bridge and surrounding interchanges.
The bigger backup came on the U.S. 21 bridge, the main detour. On ramps nearest and toward the I-77 bridge are closed, so traffic that typically uses the busy Cherry and Celanese roads exits to head north now have to travel up Cherry toward Sutton Road in Fort Mill.
South Carolina Department of Transportation traffic cameras showed backups on the U.S. 21 bridge Tuesday morning, but traffic appeared to thin out before it reached The Peach Stand in Fort Mill. By 7 a.m., the left northbound lane had traffic stopped for the entire length of the bridge. It remained that way, off and on, for much of the Tuesday morning rush hour.
SCDOT did report one area traffic problem early Tuesday. Just a little before 6 a.m., South Carolina Highway Patrol reported the traffic signal was out at Harrisburg and Barberville roads in Indian Land. Barberville is one of several southern detour options around the I-77 work, through Lancaster County.
At 6:21 a.m. highway patrol reported a non-injury wreck on U.S. 521, another alternate route to avoid construction. The incident happened at U.S. 521 and Rebound Road.
As of 7:30 a.m., both the traffic signal and wreck were still listed as active incidents. The wreck was cleared shortly after. As of a little before 10 a.m., the traffic signal still wasn’t.
At 9:41 a.m., highway patrol responded to a non-injury hit-and-run on Sutton Road, at U.S. 21 Bypass in Fort Mill. The incident came at a heavy traffic area near the U.S. 21 bridge, where Monday afternoon it took more than an hour to travel just a few miles along Fort Mill Parkway to the bridge and into Rock Hill. Traffic cameras showed free flow movement on U.S. 21 shortly after the hit-and-run.
Demolition continues on the I-77 bridge surface itself, while crews began pouring concrete Monday for the new surface.
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This story was originally published May 11, 2021 at 7:26 AM.
