From Staff Reports 

TRAVELERS REST, S.C. —  The City of Travelers Rest is preparing to begin a more than $9 million renovation of a section of Poinsett Highway, Spartanburg television station WSPA reported on Nov. 7 and 8.

To that end, Travelers Rest city leaders held a meeting regarding a multimillion-dollar project to improve road conditions on the night of Nov. 7, Greenville TV station FOX Carolina reported later Nov. 7.

Specifically, the city plans to renovate the section from Hawkins Street to Center Street. It is estimated to cost TR about $9.2 million.

City officials said it allocted ARPA money that came from COVID and money from the city’s capital projects account. 

“Officials have spent a decade working on this plan,” FOX Carolina noted. “Officials said they hope to keep at least one lane of traffic open at all times.”

Reportedly, TR officials proposed a new road project to get a more geometric shape to pull traffic off Main Street but staying in more of the business corridor.

Also reportedly, there were nearly 300 crashes over the last decade on Poinsett Highway.

“We have some significant traffic concerns, safety concerns. there were almost 300 collisions over the last decade on this stretch of road,” Fox Carolina quoted City Administrator Shannon Herman as saying. 

“So the primary driver is to improve the safety conditions for vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic. The secondary effect which is also very important to the city is the oppurtunity for economic development, and to create more of a central business district.”

The road project is scheduled to start in December, Fox Carolina noted.

Meanwhile, the WSPA story added, “‘The opportunity at hand is to go from a linear one street Main Street to a geometric central business district encouraging commerce that’s supported by the already existing residential areas,’ Herman said.

“The city plans to rebuild and repave the road, add lighting and pedestrian crossings, make stormwater improvements and build a multimodal path for people to walk and bike.

“‘It’ll be separated from traffic with a grass buffer,’ Herman said. ‘There will be an additional sidewalk for pedestrians on the opposing side.’”

WSPA added that the intersection of Poinsett Highway and Tubbs Mountain Road “will see some of the biggest improvements.”

The TV station quoted Herman as saying, “It will have pedestrian signalization timed and lighting in order to allow the correct traffic flow... Currently, it’s not lit. It is a dangerous section of the road. The road, actually in the last decade, there have been almost 300 collisions.”

Further, WSPA noted, “The project is years in the making. Herman said city leaders have been planning it for nearly 10 years.”