COLUMBIA, S.C. — Since 2017, Hardscrabble Road has been under construction leaving residents ready for the project to end.
"I feel like it's been taking forever," said commuter Kim Brockington. "It takes me forever to get to work and to get home from work and I'm hoping that it's over soon as possible."
Commuter Derek Tiborsky shares her frustration.
"I have a wife and a family to get home to and it just takes longer than expected," he said.
While some feel nothing has changed for years, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) said it's moving along quite well.
"We are 70% complete," said Pete Poore, the communications director with SCDOT.
But that's a point that leaves some residents surprised.
"Seventy percent?" asked Brockington. "It doesn't look any different than what it did a couple of years ago."
Now that the new year has begun, SCDOT provided News19 with information regarding what comes next in the project.
"One of the keys is the utility relocation. It's nearing completion by the end of January," Poore said. "The gas lines should be ready for testing to make sure they are properly installed. A lot of work can get going after those utility lines are reset, and are in place, and are working."
"The storm drain installation from Jaybird Lane to Clemson Road is expected to be complete by the end of February 2023," Poore added. "And, in the spring of this year, is the completion of the Rice Creek Bridge."
For some commuters, these milestones can't come soon enough.
"If they could do it sooner, it's just a lot," said Tiborsky.
Poore said there will be no major lane changes and the project is expected to be done by February of 2024.