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| Tuesday, Feb 11, 2003 |
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Posted on February 11, 2003 I-26, I-85 link under study by state DOT tony.taylor@shj.com The state Department of Transportation has identified eight possible routes for a proposed connector that would link Interstates 26 and 85, increasing interstate access to eastern Spartanburg County and parts of Union and Cherokee counties. The proposed connector, which would run between I-26 near the Walnut Grove Road exit and I-85 inside Cherokee County, would range from 29 to 42 miles in length and cost between $322 million and $500 million. No funding sources have been identified yet. State leaders say the idea is in its early stages and could take years to implement. "We're looking way down the line," said House Speaker Pro Tem Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg. Planners said they prepared the feasibility study at the request of the General Assembly, which introduced a resolution in support of it last year. Ron Patton, DOT director of planning, said the feasibility study was done to determine where possible routes could be established and to provide traffic analysis while identifying possible environmental concerns. "We've just scratched the surface on what we would like to do," Patton said. A traffic analysis of the area shows that by 2025, depending on which route is implemented, between 9,000 and 26,000 vehicles would travel on the corridor daily. Patton said the next step would be to conduct a design study to determine which of the proposed routes would work best. "We would have liked to have done a design study first but we didn't have the funds," Patton said. Smith believes that the state should work toward securing the money to implement the project because of its potential economic impact on the Upstate. "It would have a dramatic benefit to four counties and would create an obvious economic corridor and hopefully provide improvements to the speed of travel in the area," Smith said. "If we're going to start planning for economic development corridors, and provided there is a will to do it, we should begin exploring along those lines." Tony Taylor can be reached at 582-4511 Ext. 7219 or tony.taylor@shj.com. |
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