Williams-Brice Stadium’s lack of sidewalks is ‘embarrassing.’ Are they finally coming?
Gamecocks football fans have for years cut their own paths to Williams-Brice Stadium. They’ve rushed across busy streets and trekked over grass and mud to navigate the stark and industrial-feeling corridor that surrounds one of the most venerable venues in Columbia.
But now, more sidewalks may be coming to the area around Williams-Brice. The sidewalks have been long-sought and much-needed, local leaders and football fans previously told The State.
A new road project being considered by the South Carolina Department of Transportation envisions adding around a mile of sidewalk around George Rogers Boulevard.
The new sidewalk would start at the intersection of Hamrick Street and Rosewood Boulevard and extend all the way around George Rogers Boulevard connecting to the existing sidewalk on Bluff Road.
About seven times each fall, 80,000 or so fans descend on Williams-Brice to celebrate their beloved Gamecocks. An estimated 400,000 people crowd the corridor for the 12-day State Fair each year.
State Rep. Seth Rose, D-Richland, previously called the lack of sidewalks around the stadium “embarrassing,” and said the appearance of the roads around the fairgrounds and Williams-Brice don’t help Columbia put its best foot forward for visitors.
“It’s just embarrassing,” Rose said in a November interview with The State. “You go to a game and people are walking in the street. We don’t have sidewalks around the state fairgrounds. … I live here, I have children here, and there are things that just bother me.”
As Columbia leaders look to attract more events to Columbia, like the recent Premier League soccer match that filled Williams-Brice earlier this month, Rose and others have called for more investment in the area.
The plan is just a proposal at this point, so the scope of the project may change, a spokesperson for SCDOT said. The effort is part of a sprawling reassessment of safety on the massive six-lane Assembly Street from Elmwood Avenue to Rosewood Drive.
The project would overhaul crosswalks, left- and right-turn lanes at various points of the road, traffic signals and more. Medians and curbs will be extended at a number of intersections to cut walking time across Assembly Street, signs will be repainted and more.
The work is not expected to begin until 2026, and once underway is expected to take at least 10 months, according to the Transportation Department.
The full project is expected to cost between $10-12 million, with the sidewalk on George Rogers Boulevard alone costing about $3 million, according to the department. The work will be paid for by the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program.
Residents can keep tabs on the project on the department’s project webpage. The department will be accepting public comments about the project until Sept. 5.
This story was originally published August 29, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
