By David Meade
Local officials say they are working with the Anderson County Transportation Committee and their engineering firm Bunnell Lammons Engineering (BLECorp.) to get the repair work on Minor Street completed soon.
Unfortunately, with just over two weeks until the start of school, it appears the project won’t be completed by the first day of school on August 20.
Plans call for a 30 foot hollow core slab bridge to be constructed over the drainage area that is causing the washout problem on Minor Street. The road has been closed since the end of May and town officials have been working with county officials to find a way to make the necessary repairs to replace a culvert and stabilize the surrounding area that is being washed out.
Initial plans to replace the culvert were delayed due to a wetlands mitigation that was expected to add an additional $41,000 to the cost of the project, however the bridge option was came in at a lower cost.
The bridge project is also being coordinated with a new sidewalk project, officials said.
Preliminary work for construction has been underway over the last few weeks and Anderson County Operations Analyst Megan Young said the project should be bid out within the month.
Dan Chism, Director of Transportation Services for BLECorp said the fieldwork for the survey has been completed and they have received SCDOT’s plans and survey files for a new sidewalk project. The surveyors are blending the two files to make sure everything agrees and to make sure there are not any data gaps, Chism said.
Once the survey is in, the hydrologist will make sure that a 30-foot bridge is wide enough to handle the design for a rain event.
The roadway engineer is also ready to go and waiting on the survey, Chism said.
Geotech borings have been scheduled for mid-week next week may get moved up if there is any rain, because they can drill on the road when wet.
The structural engineers have started the design and plan is to use SCDOT Standard Bridge plans for a 30-foot hollow core slab bridge according to Chism.
