FOREST ACRES, S.C. — A bridge in the Forest Trace neighborhood has been sitting closed for nearly five years.
After trying on their own to get answers about the status of this bridge, neighbors contacted News19 On Your Side.
"And you can hear it. Every time they hit it, ba-doom," Carleton Giles, a Forest Acres resident, said.
The bridge sits at the intersection of Arlene and Lakeland drives and has been a concern for Carleton Giles and his neighbors for several years.
According to the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT), it closed in May 2019 after an inspection showed structural issues.
Giles said he thinks this was because of the heavy school buses driving across the bridge daily.
Now, locals want to know what will happen to it since they explain it's been an eyesore from sitting closed for a while.
"It's an established older neighborhood. This is Forest Acres. They maintain everything nicely. But the creek and these bridges - it's a mess," Giles said. "And what happens if they do just dead-end this? Are they going to just let that degrade?"
"It looks like it's a derelict street," Forest Acres resident Marina Collier said.
Collier, who lives right next to the bridge, said she enjoys the peace and quiet of it being closed but wants to see it looking a little nicer.
Some residents in the neighborhood said they want this bridge fixed. Others said they don't care either way. But they all agree that they want this area to look nice and be maintained more consistently.
SCDOT said it is working with Forest Acres to collect community input on the potential next steps.
The city said it will discuss this bridge at its next council meeting on Tuesday, January 9, at 6 p.m.