First Phase of I-77 Bridge Rehabilitation Project Completed Early

The first phase of the Interstate 77 Bridge Rehabilitation project opened after 8 days of work, finishing more than 24 hours ahead of schedule. SCDOT employees worked around the clock to ensure this critical work happened on schedule, with real time traffic monitoring and SHEP response teams coordinating with local law enforcement agencies.

Watch the video here.

Ashleigh Sandel and Cruz Wheeler speak at Beechwood Middle School Career Day

What kind of bird works on a road construction site? A crane.

It was a fun morning at a Career Day where SCDOT talked to sixth, seventh and eighth graders about the opportunities to start a career with us.

Click here to watch the video.

I-85 Business - Bridge Construction Update

SCDOT is making substantial progress building new bridges on Interstate 85 Business over downtown Spartanburg.

Click here to watch the video.

Project Update: Carolina Crossroads & the Midlands Connection

If you travel on the interstates around Columbia, you are undoubtedly aware of the two current interstate improvement projects in the Midlands. The Carolina Crossroads mega-project and the I-26 Midlands Connection project.

Click here to watch the video.

SCDOT employees pick up more than 105 tons of litter during the 2023 Spring Spruce Up.

SCDOT employees from various offices and occupations work together on cleanups twice a year in every South Carolina county. At the 2023 Spring Spruce Up event, more than 1,600 SCDOT employees worked together to pick up 211,000 pounds of litter statewide.

Watch the video here.

District 7 Litter Pickup Pilot Leads to Statewide Program

A successful pilot in District 7 of a contract litter pickup program for non-Interstate roads will soon result in a statewide rollout. Each of SCDOT’s seven districts will have approximately $1 million.

District Engineering Administrator Jeff Terry began the program as a pilot 2022 at the request of Secretary Hall. District 7 was allocated $1 million for the program, which Terry distributed as a percentage of the county’s centerline miles. To get the program started on a local level for each county, Terry coordinated with resident maintenance engineers.

“Most counties have somebody who is focused on local clean up – either it’s their job, or it’s something they’re passionate about and dedicated to. Those are the people who we really needed to bring in and involve in this effort,” Terry said. “SCDOT has some litter responsibility, but our primary focus is keeping the roads and bridges open. The folks who live there and see litter every day are very much in tune with it. It really is a community thing.”

Terry said coordinating with these local citizens, volunteer groups, governments, and waste authorities helps ensure efforts are cooperative and prevents surprises for everyone.

Working with state vegetation management, Terry used the Interstate litter pickup contracts as a template to create a solicitation for contractor bids. Bidders could offer their services for the entire district or just one county.

“We reached out to local businesses and promoted the opportunity through state and local governments,” Terry said. “We had a bidders meeting for interested contractors as well.”

The solicitation provided set pricing for highways, divided highways, and for extraordinary cleanup situations. Ultimately, seven contractors were selected to participate in the pilot program. To be paid, each contractor must submit the receipt showing the waste has been received by the local landfill.

Terry said he can see a noticeable difference when crews have been through each month, but that it’s also astonishing how quickly it appears again.

Still, he said he believes he’s seeing less litter throughout District 7 when he drives around.

“It’s hard to really say for sure, but on the whole, I think it’s looking better,” Terry said.

SCDOT is currently in the process of implementing a similar program in each district.

Pictured: District 2 employee picks up litter on March 28, Spring Spruce-Up. SCDOT employees pick up litter twice a year as a special effort. To keep the non-Interstate roadsides clean throughout the year, a program piloted by District 7 will soon be rolled out statewide.

Replacement on more than 33 closed or load restricted bridges underway since 2020

SCDOT maintains approximately 8,500 bridges throughout South Carolina. Approximately 1,700 of these bridges are at least 60 years old. SCDOT dedicates $223 million per year toward bridge maintenance through a mix of state and federal funding. The bridge program funds our bridge inspection program, bridge preservation projects, bridge rehabilitation projects, bridge replacement projects, and emergency bridge repair projects. Since 2017, SCDOT has replaced 261 bridges and performed countless repairs.

In 2020, SCDOT began replacing 16 closed or load restricted bridges in Abbeville, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry, and Saluda Counties across District 2. All bridges were closed and detoured throughout construction. As of today 15 out of 16 bridges are complete and open to traffic with one bridge remaining that is set to open to the public in April, almost 5 months early.

In 2021 and 2022, SCDOT began replacing 13 closed or load restricted bridges in Cherokee, Chester, Fairfield and Union counties across District 4. All bridges will be closed and detoured throughout construction. As of today 9 out of the 13 bridges are underway or complete. The 8 bridges are expected to be complete in the fall of 2023. The second group, awarded for construction in March of this year, is expected to be completed in the fall of 2024.

SCDOT just began work to replace four closed or load restricted bridges in Anderson, Chester, Chesterfield and Lancaster counties. Construction is expected to begin later this year.

Pictured from top to bottom: Manning Road over Manning Creek in Cherokee County, Graham Road over Second Creek in Newberry County and Graham Road over Buck Branch in Newberry County.

Did you know? SCDOT rolls out new lane blades on SHEP vehicles

SCDOT's SHEP program has started putting "Lane Blades" on the front of some of the state's SHEP vehicles. It enables Incident Responders to safely remove debris from highways without stopping and getting out of the truck and into traffic.

Watch the video here.

Traffic Tip: Check out SCDOT's 511 mobile app

Going for a drive on the interstate in South Carolina? Check out SCDOT's 511 app on your mobile phone. See where to avoid construction and traffic, and view a live feed of the road ahead. Now that you've found the best route, have a safe drive!

Download from the App Store

Download from Google Play

SCDOT Hosts MPO and COG Academy in Columbia

On Thursday March 30, the SCDOT Planning office hosted the annual academy workshop for Metropolitan Planning Organizations and Councils of Government. It was an opportunity for local government leaders from around the state to discuss and collaborate on topics such as the updated census, regional mobility programs, and pedestrian and bicycle safety. SCDOT recognizes the importance of strong local and regional relationships to ensure the transportation future of South Carolina.

Place your order for SCDOT promotional items to benefit SC Cares

SCDOT is now accepting orders for promotional items, offering several different SCDOT logo items for sale. The proceeds from the sale will go to SC Cares, an nonprofit organization with a mission to assist SCDOT employees in times of crisis.

Place your orders online here: www.mysccares.org

Sample items are available at Headquarters in Suite 338. You can pay for your items online with a credit card, or by cash or check made payable to SC Cares. To pay by cash or check select check under the payment tab from the website and send the payment to either Meagan Hare, or your District Coordinator. Items will be delivered to headquarters, or to the district location of your choice and distributed out to employees.

Act Fast – Items are only available for sale From Monday April 3 – Monday April 24.

Thank you in advance for your donation and your support of the Spring 2023 SC Cares Campaign!

Call Meagan Hare at 803-737-0080 with any questions.

Throwback to 1951: Construction of East Bay Street Extension in Charleston

Excerpts of an article on the East Bay Street Extension from the 1951 issue of Carolina Highways:

With the coming of motor vehicles in considerable numbers, many of the old streets and roads have been paved and widened, bridges reconstructed and widened, and a number of new streets, roads, and bridges have been constructed.

After considerable study and investigation by the State Highway Department in cooperation with officials of the City of Charleston and the Bureau of Public Roads, it was decided to construct a street from U.S. Route 52 at Mt. Pleasant Street to the intersection of Bay and Cooper Streets, with connections on Mt. Pleasant, Meeting and Cooper Streets.

The 1920 census shows that Charleston County had a population of 108,450. In 1950 the population of the county was 159,838, or an increase of 51,388. Of course, most of the increase is in the Charleston metropolitan area and is a large contributing factor to the great increase in traffic.

Pictured below from left to right:

District Engineer Muckenfuss inspects grading progress on new section of street.

East Bay Street Extension (Alt. U.S. 52) as seen during construction from roof of new Darlington Apartment Building. Cooper River Bridge in background provides ready-made grade separation crossing for new alternate highway and U.S. 17.

Source: May 1951 issue of Carolina Highways, a publication of the South Carolina State Highway Department

Spring is Time for Flood Awareness

You’ve heard “turn around, don’t drown,” which is good advice for avoiding standing water in case of a flood. But do you know about the different types of flooding in South Carolina?

South Carolina’s topography and climate make it prone to flooding. There are two major types of floods in our state, riverine flooding and coastal flooding.

Riverine flooding can occur throughout the state. Riverine flooding happens when rainfall totals exceed the capacity of natural drainage systems such as rivers, creeks, and streams.

Coastal flooding is often caused by thunderstorms, hurricanes, seasonal rains and other weather-related conditions, and may contain high and damaging winds.

Knowing that South Carolina is prone to flooding, consider some tips from SCEMD on preventing the negative potential effects of a flood before it happens.

Avoid building in a flood-prone area unless you elevate and reinforce your home.
Elevate the furnace, water heater and electric panel if susceptible to flooding.
Install check valves in sewer traps to prevent floodwater from backing up into the drains of your home.
Contact community officials to find out if they are planning to construct barriers (levees, berms or floodwalls) to stop floodwater from entering the homes in your area.
Seal the walls in your basement with waterproofing compounds to avoid seepage.
Review your insurance policy. Flood coverage is not part of most homeowner, mobile home or renter’s insurance policies. There is a 30-day waiting period for coverage to take effect.

Upcoming: SCDOT Workers Memorial Service, Friday, April 28, 2023

In April of 2018, SCDOT unveiled a Workers Memorial Wall designed to honor our fallen employees who were killed while working on the highways in our state as well as those who died while actively performing their daily duties. This year’s memorial service will be held on Friday, April 28, 2023.

Those in the Columbia area are invited to attend the ceremony in person. A live stream of the ceremony will also be available at scdot.org and on the SCDOT Facebook page.