The Making of an Interchange – It Takes That Long?

By Senator Michael Johnson

What do citizens say brought them to Fort Mill and the local area? The schools and the community. What is the top issue and complaint? It has to be roads. This might be surprising to most people… on average, it takes seven years from funding a road project until it is open for use. Seven YEARS. That is a national average and it is also the South Carolina average. If your project touches a federal interstate, you can add up to two additional years.

We are blessed in York County to have Pennies for Progress – a 1 cent sales tax dedicated to repaving and building new roads – that has raised right at one billion dollars. The process hasn’t always been smooth, but we would be far worse without it. So, let’s talk about the Hwy 160/I-77 interchange and what it has taken to get that project moving. 

In 2016 local officials began the process of finalizing plans to improve the Hwy 160/I-77 interchange. If you have driven this corridor, you know the issues during peak hours. Studies were conducted and public forums were held. What was adopted was a plan to build two flyovers, and move traffic in different patterns to improve flow. Basically, we are going to build two new bridges to move traffic faster and safer. At that time the project had a price tag of about $60 million. In the summer of 2019 I appeared before the State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) and helped secure funding from the State. 

Things were moving along and plans were being finalized. Then came COVID. Once COVID hit, most of the planning and engineering slowed. In 2021the SIB gave the County grants for $42 million for Exit 85 and $32 million for Exit 82. Combined, York County, the SIB,and the Rock Hill Fort Mill Area Transportation Study Committee (RFATS – elected officials from York and Lancaster Counties) put about $74 million towards the project. 

The delay due to COVID, coupled with an escalation of costs, led to project costs risingdramatically. By early 2023, the project had ballooned to almost $115 million, but, in the spring of 2023 RFATS stepped up to the plate and delivered the additional funding just before summer.The project was not set to go to bid in the fall.

In November of last year I received a phone call letting me know that the sole bid for the 160/I-77 interchange had come in, and that it was significantly higher than expected. What had changed? Well, the cost of everything had changed. Price escalation had increased statewide, with most projects seeing inflation of 40-45% of their estimated cost. Add that to the fact that there are very few bidders on projects of this size and scope, and it led to only one contractor bidding on this work.

At that point the project was in real danger of failing. What happened next is the good part of government – the actual ability to work together to get things done. York County put monies from their share of C-funds (gas tax) and RFATS added funds from their federal Guideshare funding towards the project. SCDOT made adjustments to assist, and – finally – the project is ready to move forward. Work should begin next month (although it is the type of work you don’t always see) and the two new flyovers should be complete by the end of 2027.

The cost escalation was high and the bidding system needs improvements, but, this project is going to happen. Had local government officials not worked together, this project would have been pushed out a decade, if not more. Making the sausage isn’t pretty, or even efficient at times, but this area needs this interchange.

There is no question that we have to look at ways to make this more efficient – we simply need to secure funding and build roads faster. I have a few ideas to reduce the regulations that slowed us down that I will be sharing over the next few months. Until then, get ready for construction on Exit 85 and a faster way to the interstate.