Hwy 29/Cherokee Road bridge replacement underway

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SCDOT has begun work on replacing the Cherokee Road bridge over US Highway 29 North.
The existing bridge, which was built sixty years ago and has a low thirteen foot clearance, is being torn down and completely replaced. The low clearance has been an impediment to commercial development along Hwy. 29 and has limited the transport of goods and materials along the route.

The Cherokee Road/Hwy. 29 Bridge Replacement Project includes demolishing the current Cherokee Rd Bridge, constructing Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls at both ends of the new bridge and increasing the clearance height between the new bridge and US-29. The new bridge is currently designed to be a single span bridge and this project includes a new roundabout at the intersection of Cherokee Rd and Joe Black Rd.
There will also be interchange modifications and reconstruction of a new bridge.

The new bridge will be two hundred seventy six feet long, and forty six feet wide. There will be two travel lanes with eight foot shoulders on each side. The original plan presented in 2017 addressed the approaches to the bridge and access to Highway 29 with the construction of two roundabouts.

That plan originally called for a roundabout at the intersection of Cherokee and Joe Black Roads, and another at the cul de sac that marks the end of Twenty Nine Court, the road that serves several commercial businesses in the small industrial park there. Twenty Nine Court was going to be extended approximately 800 feet to the site of the roundabout.
However, according to SCDOT officials, changes to the project removed one of the roundabouts and Twenty Nine Court will not be extended.

For the US 29 southbound on and off ramps, the intersection with Cherokee Road will be a traditional cross intersection and not the preliminary planned roundabout on that side of the interchange.
Completion date for the project is June 30, 2024.

The detour route following Cherokee Road, to Midway Road, to Rogers Road, to SC 8, to SC 20, to US 29/SC 20 Connector, to Beaverdam Road, and back to Cherokee Road. Motorists traveling south on Hwy. 29 to Williamston or Belton via Beaverdam Road can also turn left off Hwy. 29 onto Ellison Lake Road to Beaverdam Road.

The cost of the additional right of way attained was budgeted at $1.2 million, with $12.4 million slated for the construction.

US Hwy. 29 also has several other SCDOT projects underway including (P037225) Safety Improvements to US 29 from near S-904 to I-85 with anticipated contract completion date of May 31, 2023.

The paving project along US-29 is part of a safety contract meant to widen the shoulders along US-29 from Moore Rd to I-85. Once the mainline paving is complete, rumble strips will be installed near the edges and centerline of US-29 along with wider permanent pavement markings. This project includes new guardrail installations along this route as well.

Another Pavement Improvement Project recently completed included rehabilitation of US 29 from Hwy. 20/29 Connector to near the Anderson County Convenience Center which began in 2019 and had anticipated contract completion of Nov. 30, 2021.

(Photo) Coming down soon – The Cherokee Road/Hwy. 29 bridge project includes total bridge replacement along with interchange modifications and reconstruction. The existing bridge, which was built sixty years ago, has a low thirteen foot clearance. Completion date for the project is June 30, 2024.