Spartanburg County has been awarded $16 million in U.S. Department of Transportation funding to implement safety enhancements along Asheville Highway and North Pine Street.
The two corridors were identified by Spartanburg County’s Safety Action Plan as requiring significant safety improvements, which led to the County applying for the USDOT’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant.
“Spartanburg County made a promise to actively and aggressively pursue federal funding to further advance our mission to improve safety on our County’s roadways, because one life lost on our roads is one too many,” said Travis Brown, Spartanburg County Public Works Director. “This award represents the County’s ongoing commitment to that promise and to providing better, safer roads for our residents and visitors. Our goal as a county is to eliminate severe and fatal traffic-related injuries, and we believe this award will help us in accomplishing that goal.”
Data shows that, over the past five years, more than 50,000 crashes have occurred countywide, with more than 1,000 resulting in serious injury or death. A disproportionate share of these have occurred along Asheville Highway and North Pine Street, including angle crashes and failures to yield the right-ofway.
Both roads are key gateways leading into Spartanburg. Asheville Highway from Hearon Circle to Highway 221 sees more than 11,600 vehicles per day. North Pine Street from Highway 221 to East Main Street sees more than 41,600 vehicles per day.
“The County’s plan will address these issues through a comprehensive program of projects employing Proven Safety Countermeasures, including implementing road diets, spot safety treatments, and a public safety educational campaign, along with signal and timing upgrades,” said Travis Brown.
The roadways will also feature managed access to limit left turns across the flow of traffic, sidewalk and crosswalk improvements, bike-lane extensions, and other adjustments.
The federal grant comes on the heels of Spartanburg County voters approving a Capital Penny Sales Tax last November, with funds dedicated to 577 road, corridor, and infrastructure projects countywide. The County’s comprehensive Road Enhancement Plan combined with work funded by the penny puts Spartanburg County in a strong position to acquire additional funds for road and infrastructure projects.
“We vowed the local penny would leverage federal dollars to fix our roads. This is proof. I congratulate County Council for securing these funds and honoring their commitment to fix our roads,” said OneSpartanburg, Inc. President & CEO Allen Smith.
“This award represents an additional $20 million in investment in our roadways – particularly safety improvement projects – putting us over $100 million in investment in our roadway infrastructure over the past five years,” said Manning Lynch, Chairman of Spartanburg County Council.
For more information about our upcoming roadway projects, including the Penny Projects, please visit our interactive Project Viewer and view our Project Letting Schedule.
Written by OneSpartanburg, Inc.