BLYTHEWOOD – During town council’s Monday night meeting, it received updates on road construction projects related to the arrival of Scout Motors.
The big industrial project will result in road changes impacting all of the major routes through Blythewood, including Interstate 77, Highway 21, and Blythewood Road, as well as numerous roads that these roads intersect.
A representative from the South Carolina Department of Transportation said the planned Interstate 77 interchange construction project is now in the procurement phase. Four proposals have been received and are being evaluated for the next steps in the process.
Meanwhile, he said, work on Blythewood Road, which has been taking place west of I-77, will soon start on the east side of the interstate. Land is currently being acquired for the planned construction on US 21.
In late spring or early summer, he said, construction of a temporary rail crossing on U.S. Highway 21 near where it intersects with Rimer Pond Rd. will likely result in a 36-hour weekend shutdown of the highway.
“That’ll eliminate a long, drawn-out construction project there,” he said – and the crossing, which will later be replaced by permanent re-routing of the highway, will be used to deliver construction materials to the Scout Motors site.
As for the industrial site itself, he said, “You should expect to see construction beginning in…January/February of 2025.”
Representing Richland County, Michael Green said utilities have been moved and drainage structures put in place for the Blythewood Road project, and asphalt will be placed soon. Once the south side of the road is complete, he said, construction will be shifted to the north side.
Mayor Sloan Griffin briefly mentioned that the county is “taking care of the Dinkins’ pond issue.” Landowner Byron Dinkins recently made public his concerns about inadequate drainage control from the Blythewood Road construction site, resulting in damage to his pond and property.
Green said the Creech Road extension project, which, like the county’s Blythewood Road project between the I-77 interchange and Syrup Mill Rd., is being funded by the Penny Tax, is currently in the land acquisition phase.
The council also formally established a building code appeals board – an entity dictated by code but not yet created in the town – and appointed its first roster of board members.
