Paving work on Bluffton Parkway snarls daytime traffic. Here’s what to know
This story will be updated as the project schedule becomes available.
A paving project is reducing parts of Bluffton Parkway to one lane, causing massive traffic backups and nearby arterial roads.
On Monday, a section of Bluffton Parkway between Burnt Church Road and the Bluffton Road traffic circle was closed to one lane, creating gridlock on the Fording Island Road alternative.
U-turns and delays were frequent, and travelers heading toward Fording Island Road to avoid the slow-moving Bluffton Parkway traffic caused a backup of cars there.
On Tuesday, lanes were closed closer to the traffic circle, and vehicles were making U-turns at Goethe Road to double back to complete their journey, drone footage showed.
The construction began around May 10 and is scheduled to end May 16, but is subject to change based on weather conditions, according to a news release from the contractor, Preferred Materials.
Until the work is done, the best advice may be to avoid Bluffton Parkway.
Preferred Materials’ project manager could not immediately give a detailed project schedule when contacted Tuesday, but said the firm would send an updated schedule via news release.
Prior to Monday, sections of Bluffton Parkway near Malphrus Road were limited to one lane for a paving project. The closures appear to have moved west, and have mostly affected the westbound travel lanes.
