The South Carolina DOT (SCDOT) will begin construction this week to extend about 4.2 miles from US 17 on the Georgia border to the intersection of SC 315 near Hardeeville, South Carolina, in Jasper County.
SCDOT will expand the highway from two to four lanes and make further improvements to increase its safety and accommodate the growing traffic associated with residential and economic growth in the region.
The $ 41.9 million road widening project includes a central construction site divided between the four new lanes, wider shoulders and safety lanes. SCDOT will also install cycle paths and crossroad improvements, including the installation of a new traffic sign at intersections SC 315 and US 17. A second phase of the project is being designed by Georgia DOT to build a second bridge over the Back River, near the Savannah River.
“The Highway 17 widening project achieves several goals. It updates the road infrastructure and improves the safety of our citizens as they travel down the corridor,” J. Barnwell Fishburne, Chairman of the SCDOT Commission representing the 6º Congressional District, said in a statement. “It also supports the region’s economic growth and development efforts now and in the future.”
Significant improvements in the soil, such as specialized work on new road embankments and soil compaction to support the new road, will add time to the road construction process. SCDOT expects the works, awarded to RB Baker Construction in the bidding process, to be completed by the end of 2025.
The project is funded by SCDOT through the Lowcountry Area Transportation Study (LATS) and the Lowcountry Council of Governments, which classify the project as one of the region’s top road infrastructure priorities.
The US 17 expansion project is a part of SCDOT’s 10-year plan to repair old South Carolina corridors, rebuild or replace deteriorating bridges, make rural roads safer and improve important parts of interstate highways. SCDOT has tripled its road works to $ 3.4 billion in recent years and is well into the fourth year of the 10-year plan.
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SOURCE: South Carolina DOT