Barriers, cones, delays: What to expect as lanes narrow on road between SC and Savannah
Other than traffic delays, drivers traveling between South Carolina and Savannah may notice a few new things along U.S. 17 as major construction continues.
S.C. Department of Transportation’s $42 million project on a “critical” 4.2 miles of road in Jasper County, commonly referred to as Speedway Boulevard and used by local commuters and tourists, began in February. It’s expected to be completed in 2025.
Temporary concrete barrier walls were installed last week, narrowing the highway’s existing two lanes to 11 feet each. Reducing the lanes’ size provides extra room for the widening portion of the project that will grow U.S. 17 to four lanes.
Most of the lane re-striping is completed, and electric and communications utilities also moved cables along the corridor.
Next items on the construction schedule include upgrading pavement at the far ends of the project and adding soil to the sides of the roadway outside of the newly installed barriers, which will create a wider roadbed for the expanded road.
Although lanes will be closed intermittently during certain times, SCDOT plans to keep traffic flowing in both directions throughout the project, spokesperson Ted Creech said in a news release. Delays are still expected through at least May.
Lane closures are possible during the following times, when drivers are likely to see crews and machinery:
- Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Saturday and Sunday, midnight to noon
“We’re going to some occasional delays during the Highway 17 construction, but in the end it’s going to be a much-improved and much safer highway,” Andrew Fulghum, Jasper County administrator, said in the release. “We encourage people using that road to leave a little earlier than usual and to be patient.”
Other parts of the project include adding bike lanes, intersection upgrades, safety rumble strips at the road edge, and a new traffic signal at the intersection of U.S. 17 and S.C. 315 in Hardeeville. A grass median will also be added between the road sections.
The highway has seen increased traffic in recent years. In 2019, the most recent year SCDOT data were available, an average of nearly 18,000 vehicles passed through the area each day.
Jasper County’s improving economy and closeness to Savannah, Hilton Head Island, Beaufort, and I-95 have played a role in that increase, according to SCDOT.
The road project is a part of the continued development and growth in Jasper County with the expanded Ridgeland-Claude Dean Airport, safety upgrades like a new fire station in the Church-Stiney Road Community, plans for adding Exit 3 on I-95, and the recent agreement that’s allowing the county to take a lead on creating the multi-billion-dollar Jasper Ocean Terminal port project.
SCDOT is paying for the project, which will be done by R.B. Baker Construction, through the Lowcountry Area Transportation Study and the Lowcountry Council of Governments. It has been rated a “top road infrastructure priority of the region.”
A second bridge over the Back River near the Savannah River is being designed by the Georgia Department of Transportation as a second phase of the project.
