SUATS Selects New Transportation Improvement Projects
SUMTER, SC (December 16, 2019)– The Sumter Area Transportation Study Policy Committee (SUATS) has selected five upcoming transportation improvement projects, four of which are among the most dangerous intersections in Sumter.
The selected projects include:
- Broad Street at Loring Mill Road
- Guignard Drive at Liberty Street
- Broad Street at Robert Dinkins Road
- Broad Street at N. St. Paul’s Church Road
- Lafayette Drive (US-15) from the Robert E. Graham Freeway (US-378 Bypass) to South Guignard Drive (US-521)
“The goal of these projects is to make each intersection and corridor safe and attractive for all modes of transportation” stated George McGregor, Planning Director of the Sumter City-County Planning Department. “Improvements may include crosswalk upgrades, lane reconfigurations, signalization adjustments, driveway re-alignment, and sidewalk improvements.”
SUATS has committed $100,000 to each project for initial feasibility studies to be completed during 2020 in partnership with SCDOT. Once the feasibility studies are complete and specific project details are determined, SUATS will consider allocating full construction funding to each project.
To fund these transportation improvement projects, SUATS will rely on a $2.5 million annual “Guideshare” allocation SUATS receives from the Federal Highways Administration and SCDOT.
“Good roads are essential to Sumter’s continued prosperity,” stated Joe McElveen, City of Sumter Mayor and the SUATS Committee’s Chairman. “We’re fortunate to have these state and federal funds to continue our efforts to make travel for our citizens and businesses as safe and reliable as possible.”
At the meeting, the Policy Committee also received updates on transportation projects underway throughout Sumter:
- Proposed intersection improvements at Pinewood Road and McCray’s Mill Road are expected to be advertised for construction bid in late spring of 2020;
- Construction is underway on the “Lafayette Diamond” project at S. Pike Road, N. Main Street, and Lafayette Drive. Completion is expected in fall of 2020;
- The Shot Pouch Greenway project to connect Dillon Park and Swan Lake via a paved multiuse path is expected to be advertised for construction bid in spring of 2020;
- Intersection improvements for N. Washington Street at Calhoun Street, Hampton Avenue, and Liberty Street are in the right-of-way acquisition phase;
- Revitalization of the Manning Avenue Corridor is in the right-of-way acquisition phase, and is expected to be advertised for construction bid in late spring of 2021;
- Revitalization of the North Main Street Corridor is in the right-of-way acquisition phase, and is expected to be advertised for construction bid in late spring of 2021;
- Replacement of the Manning Avenue Bridge is in the early design stages, and is expected to be advertised for construction bid in late spring of 2023;
- Replacement of the US-378 Bypass bridges over US-15 and US-76 is in the early design stages, and is expected to be advertised for construction bid in late spring of 2022.
About SUATS: The Sumter Area Transportation Study (SUATS) is a federally-designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) responsible for executing transportation planning for the urbanized area of Sumter County. Federal regulations require that all urban areas with 50,000 or more population develop and maintain a comprehensive, cooperative, and continuing (3-C’s) transportation planning process. To accomplish this in Sumter, an agreement was made in 1966 between the City of Sumter, Sumter County and the South Carolina Department of Transportation which established the Sumter Area Transportation Study (SUATS). Sumter was the fifth community in South Carolina to be designated as an MPO. To learn more about SUATS and the current transportation improvement projects underway in Sumter, visit www.sumtersc.gov/SUATS.
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