When will U.S. 21 near Hard Scrabble Road reopen?
A section of Wilson Boulevard/U.S. 21closed since the October 2015 floods will reopen by spring, state transportation officials say.
That section of the road, near Hard Scrabble Road, was closed after a dam beneath it washed out.
Work is expected to start this fall on repairs that will end detours through neighborhoods around what was once Lake Elizabeth a few miles north of Columbia, according to the state Department of Transportation.
The fix is “a bit out of the ordinary” because it requires stabilizing the ground under the crossing without damaging Crane Creek environmentally, said Ashleigh Sandel, assistant state construction engineer for the Midlands.
State transportation officials are moving ahead with repairing the road after homeowners around the 32-acre lake decided it was too expensive to replace the dam to meet tougher safety standards.
A price tag for the road project has not been determined, Sandel said.
About 7,900 vehicles travel daily on a road linking suburban neighborhoods and downtown Columbia, state traffic counts say.
Tim Flach: 803-771-8483
This story was originally published April 19, 2017 at 5:13 PM with the headline "When will U.S. 21 near Hard Scrabble Road reopen?."