COLUMBIA, S.C. — Crews caused quite a stir in Blythewood this week when they closed Blythewood Road to one lane as part of a resurfacing project.
However, after the public's outcry, this phase of the project will look slightly different moving forward.
Richland County Councilman Derek Pugh described what happened Thursday that led to the traffic snarl.
“This past week, we started resurfacing and widening Blythewood Road. It caused a lot of confusion and traffic congestion because the contractor was working during the peak hours of traffic,” Pugh said.
Local residents who were caught up in the delays were understandably upset.
Debby Reed took to social media to vent her frustrations saying in part, “Who plans this crap? Is it purposely done to make us more miserable?”
“I miss our small little town,” Sharon Simons Wesley said.
Pugh said the county reached out to the contractor to make the changes.
“I made a phone call and made a suggestion that we have them work in the evening, non-peak hours, in order just to not kill the quality of life,” Pugh said.
While the change will make things easier for drivers, Richland County Public Works Director Mike Maloney said it will increase the project's cost.
“There’s a little bit of a cost to having crews work at night. There are certain setups with lighting, and night work is typically 8 p.m. to 6 a.m," Maloney said. "So, we only anticipate nightwork for one week. We’re looking out at the middle of November for that to occur for about four working days."
Maloney said residents can always call the Ombudsman’s Office at 803-929-6000 if they have issues with the county.
He said his office alone receives over 1,000 calls a month.
“Our Richland County Ombudsman’s Office is the best resource for just about anything you have going on in Richland County, where you have questions, or you want to have questions answered,” Maloney said.
The entire Blythewood Road widening project is scheduled to be completed in September 2025.