Orangeburg County lawmaker: Sidewalk needed; bridge plan causes concerns

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, recently asked the S.C. Department of Transportation for a cost estimate to build a sidewalk along U.S. Highway 301 between the Joe Jeffords Highway bypass and Cross Creek Drive.

“There is a lot of foot traffic walking back and forth. I don’t know what is required, but there is a safety issue,” Cobb-Hunter said Monday during an Orangeburg County Legislative Delegation meeting.

Cobb-Hunter asked the delegation’s secretary to follow up with SCDOT on the request.

Cobb-Hunter also expressed concerns about an SCDOT proposal to close the U.S. Highway 176 bridge over Providence Swamp near Interstate 95 as the bridge is repaired.

The proposed detour route is approximately 14.5 miles using U.S. Highway 301 and Bass Drive.

The SCDOT held an information meeting about the bridge project on June 27.

“I got a number of calls in the community about access and all that,” Cobb-Hunter said.

“All the work they did on 301 bridge over Four Holes, they never actually closed it, they kept one lane open,” Cobb-Hunter said. She has requested SCDOT do the same on U.S. Highway 176.

She expressed concerns about the impact of the proposed detour on emergency, law enforcement response and school bus transit routes.

SCDOT’s program manager for the project, Jordan Jolly, said the comment period for the project ends July 12.

Jolly said there have been a number of comments about the bridge being completely closed during the work. That concern is the most common being heard.

The comments will be reviewed and discussed after the comment period is complete, she said.

The right of way acquisition is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2025 and construction will begin once the right of way acquisition is complete, according to the SCDOT.

The project is expected to last two years.

The project includes replacing the bridge, realigning the roadway approaches as necessary and improving the roadway approaches to meet current design criteria, according to the SCDOT.

The purpose of the project is to eliminate structural deficiencies and to provide a bridge and roadway approach that meets current standards.

Structurally deficient is a status used to describe a bridge that has one or more structural defects that require attention. This status does not mean the bridge is unsafe for vehicle traffic, according to SCDOT.

In other matters during the delegation meeting:

• Orangeburg County Transportation Committee Chair Jackie Fogle provided the delegation with a report.

“The Transportation Committee: we do try diligently spend the money wisely on the county and the state roads,” Fogle said. “I think all of us realize how important it is, especially folks who live out in the countryside trying to get these dirt roads paved and trying to keep the paved roads maintained.”

The “C” fund program provides counties with a share of the state’s gas tax for local transportation projects. By law, counties must spend at least 25 percent of their “C” funds on the state highway system for construction, improvements and maintenance.

Since January 2023, the Orangeburg County Transportation Committee has spent $1.4 million on the paving of 8.38 miles of roads. More than two miles of roads are currently under construction.

Projects under contract include bridge repairs over Buck Branch, Cow Castle Creek, Goodys Creek, and Cattle Creek.

Fogle said if someone has a road they want to have paved, they should come to the county and fill out a request. He said the road will then be assessed by the number of houses, whether it’s a school bus route and emergency route as well as cost and right-of-way availability.

“We try our best to get permission from the landowner of the right of way,” Fogle said. The road will not be paved until all rights of way are obtained. “If we get the right of way, we are going to pave the road, if possible.”

“If you’ve got enough people who don’t want it paved, then we won’t,” Fogle said.

• Fogle said litter continues to be a problem in the county. He’s chair of the county’s Soil and Water Commission.

He requested the county consider reopening the convenience sites on Wednesdays.

“I know it would cost a little bit of money, but it costs a lot of money to have state employees out there picking up trash on the side of the road,” Fogle said.

“I think it would be a small step in the right direction,” Fogle said. “Litter is embarrassing to all of us and I just hate to see it in the county. It makes the county look bad.”

• The delegation made appointments to the Orangeburg County Department of Social Services Advisory Board, the Orangeburg-Calhoun Area Technical Education Commission, the Voter Registration and Elections Commission, the Silver Springs Water District and the Foster Care Review Board

• The next meeting of the Orangeburg County Legislative Delegation is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14.