YORK COUNTY, S.C. — After years of work, changes are coming to I-77 in York County.
These changes involving Exit 82 in Rock Hill and Exit 85 in Fort Mill.
Leaders say those two exits are some of the busiest and most congested in the state.
That’s a problem not only because of wait times, but also because it’s dangerous anytime traffic is stopped on a highway like I-77.
It took nearly six years and some of York County’s biggest players to get that grant approved. Now, the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank – or SIB – will spend $42 million on Exit 85 in Fort Mill and $32.5 million on Exit 82 in Rock Hill.
York County will supplement funding through C-funds.
Leaders say it’ll solve current congestion issues and plan for future growth. But a project of this scale takes a lot of work so it’ll be years, like up to 5, before commuters will experience interchanges in a new way.
Leaders promise the wait will be worth it.
“It’ll be a design that will provide more storage, meaning more cars can be held off of the interstate highway and off of the high-traffic, high speed areas, which will provide additional safety,” Fort Mill Mayor Guynn Savage said. “We were having back-ups. Just as we were seeing in Rock Hill on Celenase. That has to be corrected, as well. At 160, we’re seeing the same thing. A back-up come over Knoll and people are sitting still on an interstate. That’s not safe. That’s just not safe.”
“We know what we have here in York County, and how prosperous we have been,” Rep. Gary Simrill said. “But with those prosperous times and all the new growth and all the new jobs, we have to make sure we’re keeping up with infrastructure.”
York County also applied to upgrade exit 90. Right now, it did not receive that funding, but said the SIB board indicted it could still happen when more funding opens up this fall.
In the video above, CN2’s Indira Eskieva tells us why the upgrades are long overdue.
