The proposed widening and straightening of Rimer Pond Road (in red), set to begin in June.
BLYTHEWOOD – Construction is expected to begin in June to straighten and widen some of the curve on Rimer Pond Road. The half-mile long project is federally funded as part of the S.C. Department of Transportation’s Safety Improvement Program.
When a statistical comparison was made with other one-half mile sections of roads around the state with high crash incidents, the locally notorious curve on Rimer Pond Road easily met the qualifications for improvement – 29 crashes in four years with 12 of those being injury crashes, according to Joey Riddle, Safety Program Engineer with SCDOT.
Riddle said the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.
The correction will begin between the entrance to Eagles Glen and the new Perfecting Faith Church and continue toward Round Top Elementary School.
“To make the road safer, we’ll be widening the two existing 10-foot lanes at the curve to 12-foot lanes with 2-foot paved shoulders beyond the white line on the edges of the road,” Riddle said. “This will make the road about 28-feet wide, from edge to edge.”
Rumble strips will also be added to the road’s edges to warn drivers when they are departing from the road. Riddle said that while rumble strips are expensive to install, a study of the road’s accidents showed that 23 of the 29 crashes were lane departures.
Riddle said that in order to eliminate some of the curve, the road will actually be moved as much as 8 feet in some places.
A guard rail will be installed on both sides of the road at the low point of the curve where there are a couple of creeks alongside the road across from the pond dam.
SCDOT surveyed the road last February when Richland School District 2 was considering locating a bus barn near Round Top Elementary School not far from the curve.
Riddle said the road corrections should make the curve safer.
