LEXINGTON, S.C. — Traffic congestion and construction will continue for the next year in the Lexington area, according to SCDOT.
Residents and people using I-20 for work and travel are seeing even more changes to the ramp construction in Lexington with the addition of a Cedar Road Bridge.
The new bridge will go over Highway 1 to Cedar Road, which is supposed to alleviate congestion with easier access to I-20 East and West from both directions.
Just on the other side of the construction sits the Four Oaks Farm storefront, and their manager, Michael Mathias, said the construction has been a blessing and a curse.
"We feel like the end product is going to be really good for us. They are cutting down traffic lights, they've moved our driveway to a stoplight at a pretty big intersection, so we feel like we've benefited greatly from it. We've been here since the '20s and there's not been very much change, and this is a big change, so we have to answer a lot of questions and just hope the customers will continue to trudge through the traffic to come see us," Mathias explained.
Two of their loyal customers, Tammy and Gerry Pierce, have continued making the trek even after moving to Newberry.
Tammy said she loves shopping with Four Oaks Farm but said crossing the construction to finish her Christmas shopping can be a bit of a hassle.
"All this construction, I understand we needed it but it's just a mess to get through. Now that we live in Newberry, it's even worse going through 26," Piece said.
SCDOT confirmed Friday that the Cedar Road Bridge will not be complete until the end of 2024, and the I-20 project, also known as Carolina Crossroads, is expected to have quite a longer timeline with five phases. Overall completion is projected for 2029, and Phase Two is set to be complete by the end of 2024.