DOT presents plans for interchange projects Several businesses will be impacted

Mukesh Bhanderi was all for building a new interchange at Pleasant School Road until he learned Monday that the South Carolina Department of Transportation will have to knock down a portion of his motel to do it.

“I’m very frustrated about this,” said Bhanderi, who was among about 40 people in attendance at a DOT meeting at the Restoration Church where the final plans for the interchange were displayed. “We knew in the past that this might happen but the plans weren’t finalized.”

Bhanderi, who has operated the Shamrock Inn since 1998, said he’s making plans to move to a new location.

“We’ll have to relocate but I don’t know if we can get a location off the interstate,” he said.

As part of the project, the state also plans to make a culde sac where Matthews Road now ties into Hwy. 18.

Restoration Church Pastor Joey Turner said that plan will impact his churchgoers.

“It will hurt us as far as leaving the property,” he said. “We have cars parked in the back that would leave on Matthews Road.”

Blackbeard’s Fireworks and a nearby restaurant will have to be demolished to build the interchange and relocate a portion of Hwy. 18, according to DOT project engineer Chris Lacy, who said the $60 million project will be done in two phases.

In phase one, a new SC 18 interchange will be built. The bridge over I-85 will be replaced and connect to SC 18 near Victory Trail Road. Frontage roads west of I-85 will be moved a greater distance from the ramps. A new loop ramp is proposed for southbound I-85 traffic to access SC 18.

Right-of-way acquisition will begin in the spring, with construction slated to start in the spring of 2008.

As part of phase two, the S82 bridge will be replaced and a 1.7-mile stretch of SC 18 will be relocated approximately 500 feet from the interchange. Frontage roads near the interchange will be moved a greater distance from the proposed ramps.

The existing northbound exit ramp from I-85 will be removed and a new northbound off-ramp will be constructed to tie into S-82. That plan could impact businesses near the existing exit ramp, including Mr. Petro, Mr. Waffle and a car dealership.

According to the timeline, right-of-way acquisition for phase two will begin in the summer, with the start of construction set to begin in the summer of 2008.

Lacy said construction could take as long as two years and six months.