If city leaders approve the proposal, orange cones and construction workers could descend later this year on one of the busiest intersections in York County.

"It appears we have made substantial progress," City Manager Carey Smith said.

The bad news for city leaders, however, is that progress could come slower than originally hoped.

Landscaping work could start this year, but instead of finishing in six to eight months as city officials once envisioned, it could take until 2008.

The reason: Tight budgets at the state Department of Transportation, which says it can't afford to pay its $1.2 million share all at one time.

The delay is a setback because city leaders wanted the project to coincide with street and landscaping improvements planned around the Rock Hill Galleria.

Late last year, state Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill, threatened to urge DOT to abandon the project because, in his opinion, it didn't do enough to help nearby business owners.

Norman wanted the city to cut down all pine trees lining the Dave Lyle interchange so that I-77 drivers -- and potential shoppers -- would get a clear view of businesses as they drove by. The city's plan calls for leaving about 25 percent of the trees.

Stunned and outraged by the threat, city leaders questioned whether Norman, a developer, was using his political sway as a legislator to influence a deal involving his personal interests. Many of the businesses in question were developed by the Norman family.

Norman, whose District 48 does not include the interchange, now says he did not take his case to the DOT because the agency was aware of his concerns. Norman is running for U.S. Congress against incumbent John Spratt.

The DOT is offering $1.2 million because the interchange has been deemed a "gateway entrance" into South Carolina. To be eligible, the City Council must vote to put up $300,000 of its own money.