YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Nearly 500 bridges in South Carolina have been deemed “structurally deficient” by a federal report, including two of the most well-traveled in our area.
South Carolina Highway 49 over Crowders Creek and South Carolina Highway 274 over Mill Creek in York County are two of the busiest bridges in the state to have been flagged by the Federal Highway Administration. Officials have addressed the problems on Highway 49 and said it has been fixed. In addition, the process of replacing the Highway 274 bridge is under way.
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The classification doesn’t mean the bridges are unsafe, but at least one of the bridge’s key elements is in poor or worse condition.
The 2021 national bridge inventory found that 499 bridges in South Carolina, 5.3% of all bridges, are structurally deficient. In 2017, 781 bridges received the same classification.
“You want all the bridges as safe as possible,” said Buddy Moore, a South Carolina resident. “They need to have them inspected periodically and keep everybody safe.”
South Carolina transportation officials told Channel 9′s Tina Terry all bridges in the state are inspected every two years. They use that information to determine which bridges need repairs.
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The state has identified necessary work on 2,042 bridges at an estimated cost of $2.0 billion, officials said.
In December, a state transportation board added seven York County bridges to the list for repair or replacement.
Officials said new funding from last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill could expedite the work.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation will get millions to make some of the fixes.
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South Carolina has a 10-year plan to replace or rehabilitate 465 bridges across the state. The influx of money will help increase the total number of bridges to 500 and will help SCDOT make the repairs more quickly.
Officials said it is impossible to know when roads on the list will be repaired.
Bridges on the list that the commission approved in December:
- SC-901 over Rocky Creek (Chester, replacement)
- SC-72 over South Fork Creek (Chester, replacement)
- SC-9 over Wildcat Creek (Lancaster, replacement)
- US-601 over Lynches Creek (Lancaster, repair)
- US-521 over Hanging Rock Creek (Lancaster, repair)
- SC-341 over Little Lynches River (Kershaw, repair)
- SC-311 over Broad River (York, repair)
- SC-49 over Allison Creek (York, repair)
- SC-9 Business over Cane Creek (Lancaster, repair)
- US-521 over Bear Creek (Lancaster, repair)
- SC-97 over Turkey Creek (Chester, repair)
- SC-215 over Sandy River (Chester, repair)
- SC-9 Business over Bear Creek (Lancaster, repair)
- SC-49 over Fishing Creek (York, repair)
- SC-97 over Susybole Creek (Chester, repair)
- US-321 over Sandy River (Chester, repair)
- S-29-765 over Hanging Rock Creek (Lancaster, replacement)
- S-12-53 over Little Rocky Creek (Chester, replacement)
- S-29-292 over Bear Creek (Lancaster, replacement)
- S-46-884 to Fishing Creek (York, replacement)
- S-46-195 over Big Dutchman Creek (York, replacement)
- S-29-57 over Bear Creek (Lancaster, replacement)
- S-29-12 over L&C Railroad (Lancaster, replacement)
- S-46-998 over Wildcat Creek (York, replacement)
- S-46-1086 over Beaverdam Creek (York, replacement)
The following bridges were previously approved and will continue to be worked on:
- SC-72 over Bear Creek (Chester, replacement)
- I-20 over Wateree (Kershaw, replacement)
- SC-9 over Gills Creek (Lancaster, replacement)
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