SCDOT seeking public input on transportation plan
By LARRY HILLIARD Ledger Staff Writer larry@gaffneyledger.com

Local residents soon will get a chance to poke a potholesize hole in the state's South Carolina Department of Transportation comprehensive plan.

Beginning next week, the DOT will seek comment on the plan in a series of public meetings. DOT representatives will be in the Upstate on March 27 at the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center in Greenville. The DOT also will be close by on March 31 at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill.

Public comment will help the DOT prioritize an area known as the Upstate Corridor, which begins as US 123 in Oconee County and ends as US 29 in Cherokee County.

"Assuming recent trends continue, all of the counties along the Upstate Corridor are projected to experience moderate rates of population growth over the next several decades, further increasing personal and freight travel demands along this corridor through the year 2030," the plan said.

The 121-mile corridor is divided into 17 segments. Input from the public meetings will help DOT officials prioritize the segments, DOT Director of Planning Ron Patton said.

A 9.2-mile stretch of US 29 in Cherokee County to the North Carolina state line has been characterized as "deficient" based on several criteria, including congestion, percentage of truck traffic and safety.

Although congestion is expected to continue to escalate over the next two decades on that segment of US 29, the plan advises against pouring road funds to alleviate the congestion since the area is rural with little development.

The plan also identifies SC 11 as one of five connectors linking the Upstate Corridor (US 29) to Interstate 85.

"The increasing number of truck and distribution centers in this area benefit from the direct access to the interstate," the plan said.

For detailed information, a copy of the plan can be found on the Internet at the Department of Transportation Web site, www.scdot.org.