CAMDEN, S.C. — New traffic pattern signs flash on US-521 heading in and out of Camden as South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) continues its bridge replacement project.
The new pattern shifts over 16,000 daily drivers to the newly opened bridge…
Residents like Henry Blackwell-Rodriguez III drives in the area…and are getting used to the new bridge.
"I noticed everything had shifted to the other side, it was a little shaky and bumpy but it's driveable," says Blackwell-Rogriguez III.
"This is a situation where we have twin side-by-side bridges, what was done was traffic was moved over to the I believe the northbound side which is the way you would go if you were coming to Camden from I-20, those two lanes we're converted into two-way traffic," says Pete Poore with SCDOT.
The first bridge was completed on December 1st now they are working on the other which led to the shift in traffic…
"Work going on now is the other side of the bridge if you will, it's being demolished, as soon as that demolition is complete, which is scheduled to take place in mid-late January, what you will see in early-mid January is the drilling of shafts to build columns, new columns to support the new bridge and then when it's all done, then the bridge decks will be resurfaced with asphalt, to give it a new riding surface that is scheduled to take place in late summer, around August 2023," Poore adds.
"Ready for everything to be back to normal, so it can be, smooth traffic, and not such a big bottleneck through there," adds Blackwell-Rodriguez.