In his July 2024 employee address, Secretary of Transportation Justin Powell shares upcoming changes to SCDOT’s state service recognition rewards.

Click here to watch the video.

Catch a glimpse of SCDOT's new state service awards in Secretary Powell's video update.

Shape the Future of Transportation in South Carolina

Momentum 2050 is the statewide plan for the future of South Carolina’s transportation network. Your input is valuable and we invite you to join us in the planning process by taking a survey. The future of South Carolina’s transportation network starts now.

Secretary Powell recently talked with Gavin Jackson of SCETV's This Week in South Carolina about how SCDOT is investing funding from the 2017 Roads Bill to grow and maintain South Carolina’s transportation network. Watch the episode below.

Click here to watch the video.

Hurricane season started last month, and on June 5, SCDOT and the South Carolina Department of Public Safety held a lane reversal drill. This annual exercise prepares employees for lane reversals on I-26, US 21, US 278, and US 501, which would be implemented in the case of a major storm with coastal evacuation.

This is just one way SCDOT works every year to ensure we are prepared to serve the traveling public when storms come our way. Now is the time to make sure you and your family have a plan for hurricane season as well. Visit hurricane.sc for tips and other helpful information.

Berkeley Maintenance Employees Thanked for Good Deed

After a woman accidentally left her purse on top of her car and drove away, two crew members out of the Berkeley Maintenance office were there to help. Lead Man Ryan Robards and Foreman Ben Weeks, discovered the purse had landed in the neighbor’s yard, retrieved it, and securely placed it in their truck. The two notified the neighbor of their intent to return it to its rightful owner. Later that day, they met the woman at Publix where they happily returned the purse. The woman shared her good news story on Facebook expressing her appreciation and gratitude toward Robards and Weeks for helping her. 

New Section of Hardscrabble Road Open

The Hardscrabble Road Project in Richland County reached a milestone on June 17. All four travel lanes, and the center lane, fully opened to travelers on a 1.5-mile section of the project beginning near Farrow Road and ending near the bridge over Cane Creek. The project, which is located north of Columbia in Richland County, is improving 8 miles of Hardscrabble Road, from Farrow Road to Kelly Mill Road. The project is expected to be fully complete by Spring 2025. Watch video footage of traffic on the newly opened road.

Work is underway on the I-20 bridges over the Wateree River in Kershaw County. Crews have begun clearing the way for the center of the new bridge to be built. 

After the middle is constructed, crews will widen the eastbound and westbound sides. The finished bridge will be one, four-lane bridge instead of two separate structures you see today. Lane closures and traffic shifts will continue on I-20 throughout construction.

Every stretch of interstate highway has a "cross slope," a term for the angle across the width of the road. The main function of a cross slope is to prevent water from standing on the road.

As a part of maintaining and updating our state's interstate highway system, SCDOT performs cross slope corrections as part of resurfacing projects. This may require crews to work in the same area multiple times, adding or removing asphalt, and making sure the cross slope is just right.

Click here to watch the video.

SCDOT has been working to replace the bridge on US 17A/21 over the railroad track at the Beaufort and Hampton county line. Construction has begun and is on track to be complete by this fall. Earlier this week, crews worked to put in place 5 beams over the railroad. Each beam weighs 60 tons and is 122 feet long.

The widening of I-26 is underway in Calhoun and Lexington counties. The project includes the construction of seven bridges to accommodate the widening efforts. This video gives a brief overview of where the project currently stands and what drivers can expect in the near future as the project progresses.

Click here to watch the video.

On Monday June 17, Derek Frick provided members of the Kiwanis Club of Orangeburg an update on the I-26 Corridor Improvement Project, which is underway between mile markers 125 and 136. Frick discussed alternative routes during construction and information about the project timeline.

Summer Interns Learn About Concrete Pipe Making

On June 14, some of SCDOT's 2024 summer interns toured the Rinker Materials concrete pipe plant to learn about the manufacturing process of concrete pipes to be used by SCDOT. As they walked through the facility, the plant manager showed SCDOT's interns each step in making and testing concrete pipes of different sizes.

Road Safety Project Highlights

Here's a look at some road safety projects underway or recently completed. Along Neeses Highway (SC 4) in Orangeburg County, safety enhancements included shoulder widening, pavement markings, and rumble strips, which are intended to help reduce roadway departures and prevent severe crashes.

In Richland County, SCDOT has begun work on a project to make US 76/378 in Richland County safer for drivers. Throughout the project’s duration, more than 13 miles of roadway will see enhancements such as shoulder widening, improved clear zones, and guardrail installation.

And in Greenville County, crews are working to make US 25 safer. In recent weeks, crews have completed storm drain installation on side roads and driveways. Crews are currently working to install lane shifts for road widening. The project is scheduled for completion in fall 2025.

Here’s a look back at traffic on US 17 near Mount Pleasant in July 1957.

Pictured: SCDOT recently opened a third northbound travel lane on I-85 from mile marker 80 to mile marker 90 in Cherokee County. Read the press release.

SCDOT, Dominion Energy and Town of Sullivan’s Island Work Together on Sullivan’s Island Palmettos

SCDOT Requests Comments on Proposed Projects

SCDOT to fully reopen part of US 701 North in Horry County after storm drain installation completed early

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Office of Public Engagement

media@scdot.org

(803) 737-1270