SC Gov. McMaster, others set to break ground on historic ‘Malfunction Junction’ fix
Top South Carolina officials are set to kick off a $1.6 billion project that aims to improve a tangle of interstates northwest of downtown Columbia that has infamously become known to drivers as “Malfunction Junction.”
There will be a ceremonial groundbreaking on Monday for the state Department of Transportation’s Carolina Crossroads project. Officials slated to attend include Gov. Henry McMaster, SCDOT Commission Chairman J. Barnwell Fishburne, state Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall, U.S. Rep Joe Wilson, state Sen. Nikki Setzler, state Rep. Chip Huggins, Federal Highway Administration South Carolina division administrator Emily Lawton, and Rick Todd, president and CEO of the SC Trucking Association.
Carolina Crossroads, the largest infrastructure construction project in state history, will rebuild and improve 14 miles of road at the junctions of Interstate 26, Interstate 126 and Interstate 20. The project will be completed in five phases. The total effort could take eight years, until 2029, according to SCDOT estimates.
The Army Corps of Engineers last year approved a 15-year permit for the work.
The overall project would help clear up traffic headaches in one of South Carolina’s busiest corridors, where major interstates pinch together just north of the state’s capital city. For instance, the stretch of I-20 from Broad River Road to I-26 sees 103,500 cars per day, according to DOT data. The section of I-26 from St. Andrews Road to I-20 accommodates 148,400 cars per day.
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 9:49 AM.
