A rendering of what the new bridge on Interstate 95 over Lake Marion would look like when completed. (Provided/SC Department of Transportation)
COLUMBIA — Several aging bridges on Interstate 95 over Lake Marion will be replaced by one wider bridge with help from a $175 million federal grant awarded to the state Department of Transportation, officials announced Wednesday.
It’s a project that will keep traffic and commerce flowing on a critical route connecting the entire East Coast. A closure on that stretch would require a 70-mile detour, agency officials have said.
The grant completes the funding for a project that’s been in the planning stages for years.
Built in 1968, the bridges are rated in fair but deteriorating condition. By next year, the DOT may need to restrict traffic above a certain weight. Exactly what that load restriction might be is unclear. But the type of traffic potentially sent on a time-consuming detour would only increase as the bridges age, causing major headaches along the supply chain.
The bridges are the only way across a lake that spans five counties. Any detour would have to go around it. On average, about 40,000 vehicles drive over the bridges each day, 22% of which are tractor-trailers, according to the DOT.
“You can’t go through South Carolina from North to South without going over this bridge,” said Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, who’s unsuccessfully suggested for years to install toll booths to fund the work if necessary.
The bridges will be consolidated and widened substantially. The existing bridges are so narrow, a car that breaks down can’t pull off the roadway, and when crews need to do repairs, an entire lane of traffic must be closed, slowing everything down, according to the DOT.
Instead of separate bridges for each direction of traffic — on each side of a small island — there will be one bridge 130 feet wide from one side of the lake to the other that will accommodate three lanes of traffic each way initially, enough room for four lanes each way eventually, plus shoulders on each side wide enough for a car to pull over.
The span will also include a 14-foot-wide path for bicycles and pedestrians to cross the lake, separated from traffic by concrete and fencing, according to the DOT.
The walkway will join the Palmetto Trail, a network of trails that would span 500 miles from Lowcountry to Upstate when finished.
The bridge is expected to be under contract by next year, DOT Secretary Justin Powell said in a statement. An exact timetable has not yet been set, said agency spokeswoman Ginny Jones.
But previous agency estimates have put construction time at around three years.
Travelers should not expect detours for construction. The plan is to build the new bridge before tearing down the old one, according to DOT.
This was the fourth time the agency applied for a federal grant to cover the project, Jones said. How much the department has requested varied depending on which grant it was applying for. This year, the state was one of 13 to receive funding through the federal large bridge program.
The bridge “will improve safety and reliability for users, including residents, interstate travelers, and freight transporters, all of which support the economic prosperity of the region, state, and nation,” McMaster wrote in a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
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Not only is crossing the lake essential for travelers moving through the state, but local residents on either side need a way to access schools and doctors, Powell’s statement said.
The bridge is in a rural area of South Carolina that’s growing with retirees attracted by the comparatively low cost of living, access to water and nearby Santee golf course.
“We are making tremendous progress to advance the priorities of South Carolinians, and I look forward to delivering a project that will make our state proud,” Powell said in a statement.
The whole project will cost $350 million; $105 million comes from the state’s normal share of federal highway funds. State taxes are covering 20% of it, or $70 million, Jones said.
The state budget that took effect July 1 provides DOT an additional $200 million specifically to repair and replace other aging bridges statewide — the first installment of what DOT hopes will be a five-year commitment totaling $1 billion. Nearly a third of the state’s 8,400 bridges are approaching or past their intended lifespans, according to the agency.
“This long-overdue project will not only benefit the residents of Orangeburg and Clarendon, it will also help ensure safety, support economic growth, and enhance connectivity for South Carolinians across the state for years to come,” said U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, whose district includes the bridge.
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