Rock Hill group petitioning for another bridge on busy interchange

ROCK HILL, S.C. — A group in Rock Hill is pushing for a solution to a major traffic headache in their area.

They want another bridge over the Catawba River to alleviate traffic on Celanese Road near Interstate 77.

Each day, thousands of cars use that stretch of road and drive past signs suggesting that if they are tired of traffic, they should go to the group's website.

Jason Romero said he gets stuck in miles of traffic trying to get to I-77 and thinks something needs to be done.

“It's rough in the mornings. It's backed up for a long time," Romero said.

The group thinks it knows how to fix the problem and is circulating a petition pushing for the new bridge.

"The Rock Hill officials are very supportive of completing the bridge," said City Manager David Vehaun.

Vehaun said the idea has been in the works for more than a decade. There was even a feasibility study by the area transportation board in 2011, but that was canceled.

"There were a number of folks on the board at the time who were opposed to completing the plan," Vehaun said.

Their concern is that a bridge might bring some of the heavy traffic from Celanese into Fort Mill and Tega Cay.

Vehaun said Celanese Road is one of the busiest interchanges in South Carolina and it needs to be fixed.

Darrell Morrow, a driver, thinks the plan would cut down on his 45-minute drive, but even if the plan gets the approval, it would take nearly a decade.

"When it gets very congested, especially in the mornings, and everybody is trying to use the two lights to get over onto 77, I think it would help alleviate some of the problems," Darrell Morrow said.

On Friday, the group will discuss the idea of a bridge to solve the traffic issue at a policy meeting.

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