West Columbia to repair roads, add parking near riverwalk. Here’s what to expect
The City of West Columbia will spend millions in federal funding to repair roads, upgrade storm drains and add on-street parking to a historic, long-neglected neighborhood a block from the city’s riverwalk.
With $15 million set aside for the project, the city’s plans will overhaul the Mill Village – the neighborhood that sits between State Street and Alexander Road, along the Congaree River. The project has been in the works since at least 2018, when the city council identified the Mill Village as an area in need of revitalization in its Redevelopment and Revitalization plans.
“This is a project we’ve wanted to do for like 10 years,” West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles told The State after a Nov. 17 council meeting in which the city council voted unanimously to hire South Carolina-based McClam and Associates for the project. City officials had long wanted to repair the roads, but wanted to wait until they had the funding to upgrade the infrastructure underneath the roads so money wasn’t spent repairing the roads only to tear them up again later, Miles said.
The city began making property purchases in the area as “an opportunity to address parking concerns repeatedly voiced during public meetings, to provide additional parking for the West Columbia Riverwalk Park and Amphitheater, and to expand Carraway Park for children of all abilities,” city administrator Brian Carter told council in August 2017.
The neighborhood has “a lot of unique challenges and opportunities,” West Columbia City Councilman David Moye told The State. “This gives us an opportunity to go in and take care of what needs to be done.”
The Mill Village was developed at the turn of the twentieth century, many decades before the city adopted a zoning ordinance, according to the city. The project will include major improvement and construction that are expected to last months.
What improvements will be made?
Along streets in the Mill Village neighborhood, the city will upgrade and replace water lines, improve storm drains, repair and resurface roads and add street parking. Plans also include implementing one-way streets.
City leaders say that the project will improve connectivity for drivers and pedestrians with more parking and sidewalks. The neighborhood doesn’t have many sidewalks and the few that it does are often used for parking. Currently, the city has no plans to implement metered parking in the area, a spokesperson for the city told The State.
The project includes nearly 14,000 linear feet of waterline improvements, 12,750 linear feet of roadway improvements and around 4,750 linear feet of stormwater improvements, according to city bid documents.
When will construction begin, and how long will it last?
Construction on the project is anticipated to begin in January 2026, a city spokesperson told The State. The timeline for construction is 18 months, meaning, if all goes to plan, the improvements would be complete in July 2027.
Parts of the project will be completed in sequences and will be completed sooner than others. At some point during the project, all roads from Augusta Street to Court/Oliver Street, and within State Street and Alexander Road, will be closed temporarily while work is completed.
What will the project cost, and who’s paying for it?
The city announced in late May that it would spend an estimated $15 million on the improvements. The bids for the project came in under budget at $11.7 million for construction cost. That $11 million doesn’t include the cost of engineering or other related expenses, the city said.
The funding will come largely from state and federal grants, along with an unspecified amount coming from the city’s enterprise fund.
The city will use around $2.4 million from an S.C. Office of Resilience grant for stormwater upgrades. A $10 million grant from the state’s Infrastructure Investment Program will be used across five projects, including this one, for water system improvements. A $385,000 grant from Lexington County will also fund water system improvements. The roadway improvements in the neighborhood will be funded by $4.4 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.
How do I get more information about the project?
After construction on the project begins, the city plans to inform residents of the neighborhood of any road closures and updates using social media, postcards and mailers, a dedicated webpage and emails, a city spokesperson said.
More details on the project can be found at westcolumbiasc.gov/riverdistrictprojects and questions for the city can be sent to riverdistrictprojects@westcolumbiasc.gov.
