Dorian evacuees can expect travel delay, road closures in return to SC. Here’s where
About 215 road closures due to storm damage from Hurricane Dorian were reported across South Carolina Friday morning. Many of those closures, however, were neighborhood and secondary roads maintained by the state.
“Of course, that number is changing rapidly,” S.C. Department of Transportation Secretary Christy Hall said. “Our rapid-response and recovery teams are out working diligently. We are making excellent progress on that.”
Routes of most concern are S.C. 61 in Dorchester County and S.C. 54 in northern Charleston County heading toward Georgetown. Crews were working to clear downed trees from the roadways.
S.C. 61 or Ashley River Road — a major route in and out of Dorchester County — was impassable from Swamp Fox Drive to the Charleston County line.
DOT crews also continue to work to clear downed trees from roadways on James Island, Johns Island and Edisto Island, particularly Jungle Road on Edisto, with downed trees entangled by power lines. The road runs parallel to the island’s main road.
On Pawleys Island, pounding waves and storm surge from Hurricane Dorian deposited about 3 to 4 feet of sand over the roadway on the south end of the island, Hall said.
In Georgetown County, U.S. 17 — of Ocean Highway — was closed due to flooding from Country Club Drive to North Boyle Drive.
In Horry County, S.C. 544 — Dick Pond Road — the westbound lane was closed from Maryport Road to U.S. 17 Business due a sinkhole. Sections of S.C. 65 — Ocean Boulevard — and S.C. 9/U.S. 701 Sea Mountain Highway were also closed due to flooding.
The Waccamaw River, which runs parallel to the coast connecting Conway and Georgetown, was expected to crest Friday afternoon at 12 feet, according to the National Weather Service. That’s 2 feet less than officials were forecasting Thursday.
The river is expected to stay at moderate to minor flood stage throughout the weekend.
“The (flood) projections are coming down,” Hall said. “Based on the projection we say this morning, we’re not anticipating any road or bridge issues — no overtopping, not anticipated needs to close anything at this point in time. We’ll continue to check that of course.”
Last year, during Hurricane Florence, state DOT crews and contractors built flood barriers at the U.S. 378 Lynches River crossing in Florence County, as well as on the U.S. 501 Bypass in Conway to keep the only route crossing the Waccamaw River open.
Those traveling on Interstate 26 eastbound looking to return to their homes and businesses should also expect delays due to heavy traffic, Hall said.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster lifted his evacuation orders for all five remaining coastal S.C. counties, effective immediately.
The governor in a statement warned coastal evacuees to drive carefully, and consider some roads could be flooded or blocked. He also advised drivers to be patient and heed directions from local authorities when returning to their neighborhoods.
While main re-entry routes are clear, including I-26, “there are heavy volumes on it right now,” Hall said.
“We are continuously monitoring it to make sure we’re clearing any accidents that may happen,” Hall said of I-26.
One person died in a fatal collision on I-26 early Friday morning.
The fatal one-car crash happened around 5:54 a.m. on I-26 eastbound 3 miles east of Orangeburg, WLTX reported.
The car was traveling eastbound when it ran off of the road, overturned and caught fire, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol.
The driver was the only occupant.
“Traffic is still moving,” Hall said. “But pack your patience. Some of your normal travel patterns may be disrupted when you get back into these affected areas. Our main mission is to keep traffic moving and moved resources to these areas.”
This story was originally published September 6, 2019 at 1:35 PM.
