Major Columbia road changes could eliminate train track backups
Some serious changes could be coming to one of Columbia’s most congested, and irritating, stretches of road, and capital city residents — and drivers — have a chance to shape how those changes will look.
Those changes could reshape a stretch of southern Assembly Street dominated by criss-crossing train tracks and eliminate traffic backups that cause so many headaches for anyone trying to get across town on a daily basis.
Some of the proposals would add a rail bridge over one or two Assembly Street crossings, similar to the one that sails above Whaley Street between Assembly and Main. Others would instead elevate the roadway, sending drivers above the train tracks where so many now have to stop in idling frustration.
“Those both have their own challenges,” DOT engineer Joey McIntyre said of the two alternatives. “Once we receive comment from folks, we will determine what alternatives can move forward.”
The public has a few more days to weigh in on proposed changes to the railroad tracks going over Assembly Street, one of the most commonly complained about stretches of roadway in the city.
The S.C. Department of Transportation is hosting an online forum to get feedback on the proposals, developed as part of a lengthy study of how to handle traffic concerns caused by the spiderweb of railroads covering the southern part of Columbia. The deadline for public comment submission is Wednesday.
Some of the proposals include changes to bypass two of the bigger backups on Assembly, the tracks crossing the street near Capital City Stadium and Dreyfuss Road, and the other crossing between Catawba and Whaley streets, near the Lofts apartment building. Those could either be converted into rail bridges or traffic flyovers. Other changes could see those rail lines abandoned completely.
Similar changes could be added to Whaley near Lincoln Street in the Olympia neighborhood. Sections of Catawba, Lincoln and Mulberry streets could also be closed in the neighborhood where they abut the train tracks, as could portions of Flora Street on the other side of Assembly.
Another change being contemplated would add a traffic diversion from Huger Street south of Blossom Street onto Wayne Street, which currently dead-ends in a tangle of railroad tracks north of Catawba Street near Pacific Park in Olympia. That change would include either a flyover or rail bridge to separate traffic from the existing tracks in the area. Northbound traffic on Whaley/Huger street would also be diverted onto Catawba toward Williams Street in order to reach Blossom.
Once the public comment period ends, the engineers will use the public’s feedback to narrow down which of the half-dozen options will move forward.
“We’ll see what from those six can go down to two or three, and then narrow it down again to its final form in the fall of 2021,” McIntyre said.
.jpg)