Traffic Congestion, Road Construction, & Improvement Projects

[vicupstate]

On 2/23/2024 at 11:39 AM, vistatiger said:

It's still  6%  state sales tax in Greenville county. The extra local option sales tax has been voted down multiple times in this county yet the politicians still haven't gotten the message.  

By 'multiple' you mean once?

  

[victory]

https://www.thestate.com/news/local/article286062091.html?tbref=hp

[vicupstate]

Glad to see the city is going to invest in the area. The county just doesn't excel at revitalization the way the city does.  Technically speaking Cherrydale isn't annexed until second reading at the next meeting.   

[gman430]

Update on the penny sales tax: 

https://www.foxcarolina.com/2024/03/05/greenville-leaders-talk-penny-tax-some-concerns-past-linger/

 

Edited March 5 by gman430

[gman430]

7-4 was the vote so it will move forward: 

https://www.foxcarolina.com/2024/03/06/greenville-county-moves-forward-with-possible-penny-tax-other-council-updates/

[GVLer]

Driving to Charlotte. Miles and miles of the center section of 85 still under construction after a decade and NOBODY IS EVEN WORKING!  Maddening. 

[vistatiger]

5 hours ago, GVLer said:

Driving to Charlotte. Miles and miles of the center section of 85 still under construction after a decade and NOBODY IS EVEN WORKING!  Maddening. 

They have probably halted construction for the holiday Easter travel.

[gman430]

SCDOT letting for the Church Street bridge project is in August so construction should be starting in September or October. 

[gman430]

Well, I was wrong. The letting for August is accurate but now the SCDOT website for the project is saying it won’t start construction until Q1 2025: https://churchstbridgerehab.com Delay after delay after delay. 

Edited March 30 by gman430

[gman430]

The bridge in Baltimore is going to get completely rebuilt before they even start construction on the Church Street project. The SCDOT is beyond useless. They can’t even fix a sandwich let alone the roads. 

Edited March 30 by gman430

[GVLer]

16 hours ago, gman430 said:

The bridge in Baltimore is going to get completely rebuilt before they even start construction on the Church Street project. The SCDOT is beyond useless. They can’t even fix a sandwich let alone the roads. 

Is SCDOT incompetent, corrupt, or some combination? Have they ever set an actual deadline to complete a road project, or is the contractor greasing someone's palms to have a perpetual project?

[motonenterprises]

18 hours ago, gman430 said:

The bridge in Baltimore is going to get completely rebuilt before they even start construction on the Church Street project. The SCDOT is beyond useless. They can’t even fix a sandwich let alone the roads. 

That bridge in Baltimore is also part of a major port and much more important than the small Church Street bridge. It gets federal funding. It was a disasterous event, people died. Probably a poor example to use.

[gman430]

3 hours ago, motonenterprises said:

That bridge in Baltimore is also part of a major port and much more important than the small Church Street bridge. It gets federal funding. It was a disasterous event, people died. Probably a poor example to use.

Yeah and rabbits don’t lay eggs.

[russwd]

On 3/28/2024 at 8:22 AM, GVLer said:

Driving to Charlotte. Miles and miles of the center section of 85 still under construction after a decade and NOBODY IS EVEN WORKING!  Maddening. 

I drive that way most weekends to visit family and I agree with you... progress is slow, and many sections seem to go months without progress.  This construction method sucks.

That being said, there is a long stretch between Spartanburg and Gaffney that appears to be nearing completion with only cones keeping traffic out of the fast lane near the new center wall.

 

[NewlyUpstate]

https://churchstbridgerehab.com/resources.aspx#construction

This site now has the handout from yesterday's meeting available as well as videos showing the construction phasing and finished product (not sure if these are new, but hadn't seen them before)

[ingvegas]

22 hours ago, NewlyUpstate said:

https://churchstbridgerehab.com/resources.aspx#construction

This site now has the handout from yesterday's meeting available as well as videos showing the construction phasing and finished product (not sure if these are new, but hadn't seen them before)

Thanks for info. This is going to be painful....

[btoy]

Lot of inconvenience just so pedestrians can walk on the bridge.  What a waste of recourses.  Plenty of other routes for pedestrians to take already. 

[GvilleSC]

28 minutes ago, btoy said:

Lot of inconvenience just so pedestrians can walk on the bridge.  What a waste of recourses.  Plenty of other routes for pedestrians to take already. 

Somehow a major point is being missed here:  work on the bridge needs to be conducted anyhow. The structural repair is the driver for the project. It is also the aspect of the work that is requiring major lane closures and detours. The pedestrian improvements, aesthetic upgrades, and safety issues are minor additions to the scope of work.

I think most people would be surprised at how many people actually walk/jog on the current bridge. The guardrails do not meet current safety standards. This is going to be an asset as County Square gets built out. 

[rabbit seisin]

Academy and Church are like giant pedestrian moats, anything the city can do to mitigate danger and inconvenience to foot traffic crossing those routes will raise quality of life and property values downtown in the longer term. 

[nicholas]

On 4/1/2024 at 8:13 AM, russwd said:

I drive that way most weekends to visit family and I agree with you... progress is slow, and many sections seem to go months without progress.  This construction method sucks.

That being said, there is a long stretch between Spartanburg and Gaffney that appears to be nearing completion with only cones keeping traffic out of the fast lane *PASSING LANE* near the new center wall.

fixed

[gman430]

14 hours ago, btoy said:

Lot of inconvenience just so pedestrians can walk on the bridge.  What a waste of recourses.  Plenty of other routes for pedestrians to take already. 

I agree. $30 million for this? What a joke. 

Edited April 19 by gman430

[gman430]

Improvements coming to River Street and Poinsett Highway: 

https://www.postandcourier.com/greenville/news/bike-lanes-downtown-greenville-sc-poinsett-highway/article_6f872138-0109-11ef-b148-f7c800333e35.html

[gman430]

There are 8 types of projects, which cover the entire county: 

• Repaving (1,400 projects, 542 miles) for $400 million
• Intersection Improvements (37 projects) for $136 million
• Roadway safety (18 projects) for $117 million
• Congestion relief (15 projects) for $192 million
• Bridges and stormwater (39 projects) for $43 million
• Pavement preservation for $40 million
• Road safety enhancements for $40 million
• Transportation-related drainage for $40 million
   

More info including the full list:  https://www.foxcarolina.com/2024/04/23/greenville-co-penny-tax-commission-releases-list-potential-road-projects/

Edited Wednesday at 11:23 AM by gman430

[NewlyUpstate]

Seems worth it. Can they just approve the penny tax for the 8 years, create a dashboard showing progress against these identified projects, and revisit effectiveness 8 years from now?

[vicupstate]

9 hours ago, NewlyUpstate said:

Seems worth it. Can they just approve the penny tax for the 8 years, create a dashboard showing progress against these identified projects, and revisit effectiveness 8 years from now?

The tax will expire after 8 years but it can be extended by a second referendum. I has been extended like three or four times in York County and is up for a third extension in Florence County this year.