Plan coming soon to fix Columbia’s ‘Malfunction Junction’

Motorists will get their first look in a little over a week at ideas that state transportation officials are considering to reduce congestion at the intersection of I-20, I-26 and I-126.

The list of final contenders will be outlined during a session from 5-7 p.m. Oct. 4 at Seven Oaks Elementary School, 2800 Ashland Road, in the St. Andrews area.

Improving traffic flow at a crossroads that drivers have nicknamed “Malfunction Junction” is the top goal of state officials. Transportation officials call it “Carolina Crossroads.”

Transportation officials have spent the past year developing the plan, with a goal of starting construction in 2019.

Construction could cost as much as $800 million and take up to 10 years to complete, according to some preliminary estimates.

The highways were built in the 1960s. Improvements were made from 1976-97 as more neighborhoods and stores rose along the routes.

But no one foresaw the number of vehicles today traveling the roads as the Columbia area grew and I-26 became a lifeline between Lowcountry ports and the Upstate’s manufacturing hub.

Up to 133,600 vehicles travel through the I-20/ I-26 intersection daily, traffic studies say.