SCDOT briefs council on West Faris Road Bridge replacement; project to close route with 7‑month full closure and signed 3.6‑mile detour

Clint Link, the city’s director of engineering services, introduced SCDOT’s team and invited Megan Groves, SCDOT upstate regional program manager, to brief the council on the West Faris Road Bridge replacement.

Megan Groves said the existing bridge, built in 1969, is structurally deficient, closed and load‑posted, and therefore must be replaced. “The purpose and need is to essentially replace that,” she said, and described the project as an approximately $8.5 million bridge‑replacement that spans Brushy Creek and will meet current design standards.

Project highlights reported to council included an ~85‑ft reinforced‑concrete span (the current structure is about 75 ft on timber piles), an increase in bridge width to accommodate future bicyclists and pedestrians, a raised grade of roughly 5 ft to smooth the alignment, and improvements to drainage and nearby intersections. Groves said typical cross sections will use 12‑ft lanes, paved shoulders, a 4‑ft bike lane and 5½‑ft sidewalks on each side where feasible.

SCDOT described right‑of‑way and utility impacts: seven tracts are affected (about 0.23 acres), five of seven tracts have already been acquired and one occupied house will require relocation assistance. The project impacts nine utilities (telecom, gas, electric and three wet utilities); two wet‑utility relocations will be contractor responsibilities.

On schedule, Groves said letting is anticipated in January 2027 (relocation of one utility has pushed the timeline), with construction beginning a few months after letting. SCDOT anticipates a full bridge closure of roughly seven months; the contract also includes incentives for early completion and disincentives for overruns. An in‑contract utility phase will precede the closure and then about 12 months of additional work will complete paving and ancillary items.

The official signed detour route is about 3.6 miles (West Parrish → Augusta Street → Milledge Avenue → Henrydale → Grove Point). Councilmembers raised concerns that cut‑through traffic could affect hospital access and local streets; SCDOT said the detour was selected to use signalized intersections and turn lanes and that the city’s traffic‑management center can adjust signal timing and monitor congestion.

SCDOT staff noted public outreach to date: a July 2024 public information meeting with 27 attendees and 34 written comments, a project webpage with about 1,200 visits since 2023, and coordination with Greenville Memorial Hospital. Groves said staff will issue press releases prior to closures and continue coordination with the city on access and signage.

Council asked staff to consider additional signage, message boards, cross‑hatched accesses to hospital entrances and use of the city’s signal‑timing tools to protect critical access during the detour period. SCDOT said staff will coordinate further with the city, hospital and contractors as the design and utility relocations advance.

No local action was taken at the meeting. The presentation was informational; the municipal agreement and construction‑phase approvals will return to council for concurrence when ready.