FORT MILL (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A significant road improvement project is moving forward in Fort Mill and some residents are saying, “Finally!”
“We wish we had it years ago because there’s been a lot of accidents and I want to save a lot of trouble,” said Paul Reynolds as he rode his bike through the Sutton Place neighborhood.
His feelings sum up how the majority of his neighbors feel about another road construction project set to widen a two-lane road to five lanes from Sutton Road, Spratt Street, and Fort Mill Parkway to the railroad bridge at US Foods.
“The best thing it’s going to do for us is let us make left turns properly. It’s a real nightmare when people want to make a left turn, either going out of the neighborhood or coming from the other way,” Reynolds said.
“They’ll usually stop to cross over, which causes a lot of traffic, especially during school times. So this would be helped the flow of traffic a lot easier,” said Lance Kimani, another resident in the neighborhood.
County officials say about 19,000 cars travel this two-mile stretch daily.
The Pennies for Progress website says a right-of-way acquisition is currently underway for properties along the route. County officials say the big reason for the project is to handle growth.
“Once the bypass opened all the schools, commercial development, and traffic has only compounded year after year, so this is a much-needed project.”
“We’ve been here 20 years and the population is practically doubled. And 116 there used to be a little two-lane highway. And now it’s almost as bad as 51,” Reynolds said.
Pennies for Progress will hold a neighborhood drop-in style meeting on Wednesday, June 7th at Riverview Elementary School to get public input and ask questions about the project.
Neighbors will also have a chance to see the approved designs of the roads. Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and take at least 18 months.
“That’ll be a little bit of short-term pain, but it will be worth it in the long term,” Reynolds said.
