Interstate work will tear down Midlands town’s landscaping, trees, DOT warns
Planned roadwork in Irmo could mean a lot of roadside trees being cut down, with the town on the hook to replace them.
Irmo Town Council gave its approval Tuesday to an agreement with the S.C. Department of Transportation to cooperate on planned roadwork on the Interstate 26 interchange with Broad River Road on the eastern edge of town.
“At Broad River Road, it runs into the town limits of Irmo,” said Brad Reynolds, project director for DOT. “State law requires when we’re working in a municipality, that we talk to them and get a municipal agreement.”
The agreement allows DOT to move ramps, frontage and utility lines as part of improvements planned to start in 2027. But the main impact on the town will likely be the removal of municipal-maintained trees in the interchange.
There are currently trees in the greenspace surrounding the on and off ramps to I-26, plus a line of trees on the frontage along the interstate near Columbiana Drive that will likely be affected, according to documents presented to Irmo Town Council by the project director.
“We’ll work with our contractor to make sure they minimize any impacts to that land,” Reynolds said.
Irmo Mayor Bill Danielson asked who would ultimately be responsible for replacing any landscaping removed during construction.
“If it’s constructed under our standard encroachment permit, the replacement of any landscaping in those areas falls on the permittee,” i.e., the town, Reynolds said.
The town would also be required to move any municipal utility lines in the affected area, although “We’ve talked to utility providers (and) there are no town utilities in this particular area,” the project director said.
Work on Broad River Road will be the latest part of the Carolina Crossroads project to relieve congestion between Interstate 20 and Interstate 26 outside Columbia, popularly known as “Malfunction Junction.” The Broad River interchange will be the westernmost planned improvement stretching up I-26, which DOT intends to widen and improve other connections with Lake Murray Boulevard, Harbison Boulevard, Piney Grove Road and St. Andrews Road.
The full Carolina Crossroads project is expected to be completed by 2030, Reynolds said.
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