AIKEN --- By next week, state Department of Transportation officials will know when some traffic can begin traveling on the not-yet-completed portion of the Palmetto Parkway.
Claude Ipock, the project manager for the South Carolina DOT, said motorists will likely be able to utilize parts of the 6.5-mile parkway before the project is complete at the end of December.
On Thursday, Mr. Ipock, contractors and officials with the Federal Highway Administration will meet and decide when and what parts of the thoroughfare will be open to the public before the completion date.
"We're hoping to have it open even before our Dec. 31 deadline," he said.
Crews have completed construction on the 16 bridges that will serve as interchanges, widening of Clearwater Road and widening of U.S. Highway 25.
The new portion of the parkway begins at U.S. Highway 1, ties into Interstate 20 and will exit past the Edgefield and North Augusta exit on I-20, Mr. Ipock said.
"Spaghetti would probably be the best way to describe it," Mr. Ipock said. "There will be free-flowing interchanges."
Paving, line marking and some signage will be complete in the next few weeks, he said. The $152 million project is expected to ease traffic through the area that borders Augusta.
"When we checked there was 25,000 to 30,000 motorists on U.S. 25 daily," Mr. Ipock said.
"We needed to help ease the traffic from the current volume, and prepare for the expected growth."
Reach Stephanie Toone at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.
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How about an Augusta to Chattanooga corridor? How much traffic would that take off the bottle neck thru Atlanta? Also, the north east Georgia area cities that would be better connectd with the north souht interstate system.