Watch: Road Closures Still A Problem In Some Areas After Floods
Several roads in Eastover remain closed after the historic floods causing traffic for residents.
Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — More than 3 months after the historic floods, residents in Eastover are still feeling the impact with several road closures across the region.
“Now, I have to drive all the way up Garners Ferry, make a left turn on Reese Road, go all the way by G-mart then come back down so it’s a thirty minute ride,” explained resident Paulette Cunningham.
Cunningham explained her new route to Gadsden since the historic floods damaged several roads.
“There’s a big breach that still exists in Highway 48,” said Cunningham.
Earlier this week, several main thoroughfares and secondary roads in Eastover were closed simultaneously while crews worked to repair washed out railroad crossings and roadways. Eastover residents said the closures created an influx of traffic in their small town.
“It was real crowded,” said resident Thomas Scott. “You saw a lot of trucks yesterday, they used to come down the main highway but somewhere they can’t get through so it’s kind of been rough.”
According to SCDOT, roughly 20 roads and bridges remain closed in Richland County. Officials said several of the closures are under contract for repair, while the roads damaged by dam breaches may take some time.
“There are roads across dams and the responsibility of the DOT for the road across a dam is just for the road itself and not for the dam and if the dam has breached it’s really the responsibility of the owner of the dam to make repairs,” explained SCDOT maintenance engineer Robert Dickinson.
Aside from roads across dams, officials expect all the roads in Richland county to be back up and running by mid-summer.
