COLUMBIA, S.C. — Business owners and residents in Five Points are navigating a major road safety project that has transformed the historic district into a construction zone since April. But the end for all the work is not too far away.
The Five Points Safety Improvement Project, which aims to create a pedestrian-friendly space, has impacted local businesses like All Good Books.
“Well, it's I'll be honest frustrating the week before Christmas to have a major construction project going on that is taking all the parking spots in front of our building,” said Ben Adams.
Adams noted a significant drop in sales during the construction period. "We've seen sales down drastically this year, we're just hopeful this will be over real soon, so we can resume business as normal," Adams said.
Once completed, the project will introduce new crosswalks, medians, bike lanes, and a reduction of Harden Street from four lanes to two.
These changes aim to slow traffic and improve safety for pedestrians and drivers alike.
State Rep. Seth Rose, who represents State House District 72, secured some funding for the project and acknowledges the temporary inconvenience but believes the upgrades will benefit the area in the long run.
“Obviously whenever you have any type of road project there will be impact and you have to do the work but when we finish it, it will be incredible. It will slow down traffic so people can window shop and feel like they can send their kids to get ice cream and their not gonna get runover on a four-lane highway with people going 55 mph through what we know as a historic village.”
The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) provided additional updates to News19, confirming that the project remains on schedule to be completed by the summer of 2025. Traffic signal and pedestrian signal upgrades are expected to finish by the spring of 2024, while repaving of Harden and Devine streets is also set to begin in the spring.
Rose added these details about the project. "They are gonna blacktop it and give fresh paint to it, and that will happen when the weather nicer in the spring so that's technically when the project is going to finish, but for all intensive purposes all of the work should be completed easily by the end of January."
Rose also said there will be other projects on Devine Street which will be detailed in the future.