Lanes on I-77 bridge in York Co. reopen after hole repair

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — UPDATE: Crews reopened all lanes on the I-77 south bridge in York County Wednesday afternoon after repairing a hole that was discovered about 24 hours earlier.

Crews hope to have a large hole in the middle of Interstate 77 fixed and the highway reopened by Wednesday afternoon.

• IMAGES: Crews work to repair I-77 bridge

A portion of I-77 southbound in York County was still shut down Wednesday morning, more than 12 hours after crews discovered the gaping hole.

https://twitter.com/JoeBrunoWSOC9/status/674561160658616320

The hole caused major backups Tuesday evening. Chopper 9 flying over the scene showed massive traffic -- about a 12 mile back up caused by the square hole on the Catawba River Bridge.

Channel 9 checked with the South Carolina Department of Transportation Wednesday and they said the lanes will not reopen until 4 p.m.

https://twitter.com/JennaWSOC9/status/674397775551995904

The hole is only 2 feet by 4 feet, but could cause massive damage, which is why two lanes of the interstate have been blocked off in South Carolina near Celanese Road.

Officials told Channel 9 the bridge is old and slowly decaying and earlier this summer the same bridge had a similar problem.

• LINK: WSOC-TV Traffic webpage

Drivers said they thought the traffic was unbearable, but damage from the hole could have been worse.

“To a truck, it could be real bad. It could be devastating to a truck,” said Stanley Young.

Channel 9 will be on the scene monitoring the progress throughout the day, keep checking with wsoctv.com and follow Traffic Team 9 on Twitter for updates.

• CHOPPER VIDEO See the view of the traffic from the air:

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