RIDGEWAY – An item brought up by Mayor Rick Johnson at last week’s town council meeting – that was not on the agenda – stirred much interest from the audience: an effort to rid the Town of Ridgeway of big rig truck traffic.
To do that would require both the Washington, D.C. and South Carolina departments of transportation to remove the truck route designation from those roads – something the town’s government has tried for years to do without success.
Johnson said it’s time to make that happen.
Calling on Washington
“I’ve been working on this for about four or five months,” Johnson told council. Addressing the issue that has long festered with Ridgeway residents, shoppers, and downtown merchants.
Johnson said he contacted U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman last June to seek his help in eliminating the constant stream of big rigs through the downtown. He said about half of them are logging trucks carrying pulp wood to Camden for processing,
“These trucks have for years been a dangerous, noisy nuisance on the single-lane road that runs through our downtown area,” Johnson said. “We have more than a hundred 18-wheelers, cement trucks, tankers and pulp wood trucks come through here every day between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. It’s constant and an extremely dangerous situation for our residents and shoppers.”
The Perfect Storm
U.S. Highway 34 and State Highway 21 converge as they each cross through the little town to set up the perfect storm – a shortcut for big rigs traveling from I-77, particularly from the north, to Camden and Highway 601. Trucks from I-26 also cut across western Fairfield County to cut through.
“These trucks could easily travel on down I-77 and go east on I-20 to Camden,” Johnson said. “Ridgeway should not have to suffer them cutting through our town.”
Johnson hopes, with Norman’s help, to convince Washington and South Carolina to take Highways 34 and 21 off the map as a truck route through downtown Ridgeway.
“It’s been that way for years and years,” Johnson said. “It’s time for it to stop. When I called SCDOT about Highway 21, I was told, ‘That’s a big ask.’”
But Johnson said Norman has put two staff members on the case who are dedicated to helping re-route the trucks.
“Both of them have been very active,” Johnson said. “At least one day out of every week, they are on the phone with me.
“Mr. Norman’s office seems to think that they can make something happen,” Johnson said. “They’re not just passing this off when I call. They’re trying their best.”