I-385 project completed early

By Charles Sowell  

JULY 16, 2010 7:46 a.m. (0)

Work on Interstate 385 that has essentially shut down the shortest route from Columbia to Greenville is scheduled to complete early, state highway officials said this week.

A ceremony is to be held at 10:30 a.m. next Friday (July 23) at the I-385 rest area located at mile marker 6. The original completion date was Aug. 15.

Work will be ongoing as the ceremony is held and should be finished between July 23 and 28.

The I-385 rehab project sparked controversy from early on when local business and political leaders learned of plans to close the northbound lanes of the road and divert them through Spartanburg and a variety of alternative routes.

State highway officials say they saved about $35 million by closing the northbound lanes and finishing the project in eight months rather than doing a more traditional phased construction project that could have stretched over three years.

Cost of the traditional program is estimated at about $96 million. The cost of the alternative is about $61 million.

Today (July 16) three exits that have been closed along I-385 are scheduled to reopen. Those exists are state Route 308 (exit 2), state Route 49 (exit 5 and Metric Road (exit 10).

Officials plan to shift southbound traffic back onto the southbound lanes today. Traffic had been shifted over to the northbound roadway in order to complete work on the southbound sections.

On Friday, July 16, three exits that have been closed during the rehabilitation project are scheduled to re-open, weather permitting. These are SC 308 (exit #2), SC 49 (exit #5), and S-23 (Metric Road exit #10). Also Friday, the contractor plans to shift southbound traffic, which has been using northbound lanes during the latest phase of the rehabilitation project, back to the southbound side.

This last traffic shift will allow for completion of the northbound side and finishing touches prior to fully reopening I-385.

Northbound I-385 traffic remains closed for approximately 15 miles from mile point 0 at the I-385/I-26 interchange.

During the project workers milled away some of the existing roadway and replaced it with 10 inches of high strength concrete. The interstate was widened toward the median to install a 4-foot inside shoulder, two 12-foot travel lanes and a 10-foot outside shoulder.

The flyover bridge where I-385 connects to Interstate 26 was also replaced during the project.

Additional information on the project, including detour routes and construction updates, is available at www.i385rehab.com.

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