GREAT FALLS, S.C. — Starting Monday, hundreds of cars -- including commuters, school buses, and emergency vehicles -- will face a much longer trip getting to and from Great Falls.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation planned to close and replace the Highway 97 bridge over Rocky Creek starting Nov. 10. However, delays in getting permits pushed the project back until May.
About 2,000 vehicles a day cross the bridge which was built in 1954 and it is long overdue for replacement.
Read our past coverage:
Julie Allen lives just up the highway.
"It's relief and frustration at the same time. It's well overdue to get that bridge repaired, but it's going to cause a lot of havoc," she said.
Great Falls police Chief Steven Rice has approached county leaders about extending the jurisdiction of his officers to three miles outside of town.
"We need to have authority to handle calls. Domestic, burglary, whatever it might be," Rice said.
That's because sheriff's deputies could have a longer response time due to the bridge closure, and what DOT said will be a 13.7-mile detour around it.
Great Falls Fire Chief David Galloway has asked surrounding volunteer agencies to also respond to some calls along with his firefighters.
"Rossville is one of them we want to work with. We're going to make sure another station can respond too," he said.
The $5.8 million project is expected to take 10 months to finish.
On Friday afternoon, construction crews were installing detour signs and preparing to close the bridge on Monday. The planned detour takes traffic either north on Highway 99 toward Richburg, or south on Highway 200 to connect to Interstate 77.
Local traffic will likely use back roads, such as Golf Course Road and Ross Dye Road to get around the closure.
Neighbor, Homer Harmon said it's going to take some getting used to, and some patience.
"It's going to cost everybody a little bit more, until that 10 months is up." he said.
Some business owners are concerned as well. Tommy Jones runs a towing company not far from the bridge.
He's worried about increased gas costs, and lost time getting to calls.
"It's probably going to hurt us. I don't know how bad, but it will hurt some," Jones said.
Great Falls police hope that the Chester County Council will vote soon on allowing the agency to take calls outside the city, and assist the sheriff's office.
It's a step Rice has wanted to take for years. He hopes that concerns over a major bridge project will help green light that change.
Allen said everyone is going to have to make an adjustment.
"A lot of people on the other side of the bridge, they come down here to the doctor, they go to the grocery store, and it's just going to cause a lot of headaches," she said.
Department of Transportation engineers said the rocky creek bridge is not being shut down over safety concerns, but money became available to replace the 60-year-old bridge.
WSOC
