Afternoon traffic update: Heavy U.S. 21 traffic, crews finish I-77 bridge demolition
The afternoon rush began with heavy traffic on U.S. 21 at its Catawba River bridge, the main detour route around ongoing work on the I-77 bridge over the Catawba.
Southbound lanes on the interstate bridge are closed for bridge repair. They’ll be out of commission until May 24. Northbound and southbound traffic are sharing what typically are the four northbound lanes.
By 3 p.m. vehicles were backing up but still moving for a few miles north of the bridge. South Carolina Highway Patrol reported an assisted motorist on I-77 at southbound exit 82, just south of the bridge. The only other reported incident was a non-injury wreck in Lancaster County, on U.S. 521 near Van Wyck Road.
Southbound traffic on the detour route, U.S. 21, sat at a near stand still on its Catawba River bridge. Traffic backed up at least as far as The Peach Stand, traffic cameras showed.
SCDOT posted Wednesday that work is ahead of schedule and the last bit of bridge deck demolition should be complete Thursday. There’s still work to put down the new bridge surface.
There was a non-injury wreck reported at 3:32 p.m. in Lake Wylie. It was on S.C. 49 near Paraham Road. Another non-injury wreck came at 3:41 p.m. in Rock Hill, at S.C. 161 and Ebinport Road. That same time, a non-injury wreck was reported at S.C. 160 and Zoar Road, near Tega Cay.
By 4 p.m. bridge traffic on U.S. 21 had lightened, but traffic still was heavy near The Peach Stand just a couple miles north of it. Interstate traffic worsened by that point with backups to about five miles north of the I-77 bridge.
A 4:08 p.m. traffic hazard was reported on I-77 in Chester County, at exit 63. That’s about 20 miles south of the bridge work.
A 4:12 p.m. collision was reported on U.S. 521 in Lancaster County, at Shiloh Unity Road. No injuries were reported.
This story was originally published May 13, 2021 at 3:43 PM.
