YORK COUNTY, S.C. — The morning commute on I-77 in York County keeps getting longer and longer.
Traffic coming up from Rock Hill and Chester often hits a dead stop at Highway 160.
On better mornings, commuters can reach Gold Hill Road before tapping the brakes and entering a sea of red lights.
"Congestion. It's red lights every morning," said Pennies for Progress director Patrick Hamilton.
Hamilton oversees the county's 1-cent sales tax, which has pumped millions of dollars into local roads since it was first approved by voters in 1997.
The booming county, however, hasn't been able to keep up with the explosive growth.
One of the area's most congested I-77 interchanges, the overpass on Gold Hill Road over I-77, is about to get a major facelift.
On Monday, the York County Council took its first look at an agreement between the county and the state Department of Transportation to build a new interchange there.
It's the first time this particular solution is being tried anywhere in South Carolina.
The idea is something drivers north of Charlotte have already seen. It's known as a diverging diamond intersection or double crossover. Exit 28 on I-77 in Cornelius has one already.
[PAST COVERAGE: State's first diverging diamond interchange opens in Concord]
More than 22,000 vehicles drive on Gold Hill Road every weekday.
Most of them are trying to merge onto I-77 north to Charlotte. Traffic must sit in one lane and wait for a left turn arrow. Traffic can back up for miles in both directions.
"It's backed up all the way to Tega Cay," said Ryan Burkett, who makes the drive from gold hill to Charlotte each day. "Travel is terrible down there."
[PAST COVERAGE: Changes are coming to controversial diverging diamond off Exit 28 in Cornelius]
The $12.3 million project will be funded mostly by money raised from the 1-cent sales tax. About $2.5 million will come from federal dollars.
The SCDOT is partnering with the county because of the federal money involved.
Channel 9 drove the diverging diamond interchange in Cornelius four or five times on Monday. While awkward to use at first, it is well-marked.
Hamilton said there is a learning curve, but not a steep one.
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