For eight consecutive years I’ve driven through construction on my 8-mile commute up Interstate 85 thanks to the Gateway and Rocky Creek bridge projects. During that time, I’ve watched the crews working hard on improvements to expand, repair and improve our highways.
Unfortunately, I’m afraid it’s too little too late. Many exit ramps have been built with too few lanes and insufficient length to accommodate the traffic at peak rush hour, creating massive backups on the highways putting people in danger.
The northbound exit at Pelham Road is particularly troublesome. There is a clear need for three exit lanes to get the traffic off the highway which could be accomplished by widening the exit a few hundred yards. I initially contacted the South Carolina Department of Transportation more than four years ago and have checked in periodically, hoping this could be done during the $27 million dollar, four-plus year Rocky Creek project. There is still no formal plan or funds approved to do so despite the fact there have been more than a dozen accidents at the Pelham Road exits since just Nov. 1 according to the SCDOT’s own X (formerly Twitter) page.
This shows the agency is either complicit or inept. I’m not sure which is worse.
Brian Remsberg
Greenville
