By Samantha Swann
Posted Sep 5, 2018 at 4:54 PM
Updated Sep 5, 2018 at 4:56 PM
DOT working with Converse College to install signs at dangerous curve
Pine Street will be receiving a little TLC in the coming months.
A map of planned roadwork on file with the S.C. Department of Transportation shows that plans to rehab and resurface Pine Street from East Main to Country Club Road have been made.
Todd Carroll, resident construction engineer with SCDOT in Spartanburg, said that while there was no definite time frame for the project, it would begin sometime this winter. SCDOT’s website indicates that the project is scheduled for completion in November 2019.
“This winter our contractor will begin patching the areas of road that have failed,” Carroll said. “Then next summer, they will remove two inches of asphalt and resurface.”
The section of Pine Street up for rehab is an area of concern for some in the neighborhoods it passes through.
Converse Heights residents, like Jody Traywick, have spent several years working to increase safety on Pine Street, working with representatives from the South Carolina Trucking Association and Associated Petroleum Carriers to compile a list of suggestions that includes compelling and visible signs indicating speed limits, well-marked crosswalks, and more effective enforcement of traffic laws.
Carroll noted that as part of the resurfacing, the crosswalks in the area, many of which have faded, would be repainted, making them more visible.
Further down Pine Street, speed concerns persist, particularly at Converse College. The college is bordered a portion of Pine Street that curves with a steep slope that has caused speeders to run off the road, with several crashes ending up in the college’s parking lot at the bottom of a hill.
Beth Lancaster, director of media relations at Converse College, said that SCDOT representatives in Greenville came to discuss the college’s concerns in late August.
Lancaster said that the representatives agreed that speeding did seem to be a problem, especially along the curve near the East St. John intersection. She said that a work order had been submitted for signs to be placed along the curve to warn drivers to slow down.
“They definitely noted that the speed of the drivers as we were standing there alongside the road was quite high coming around that curve, and they also agreed that the slope of the road was such that drivers were being thrown out of the curve verses kept into the curve and that it should be re-sloped to increase safety,” Lancaster said. “However, that’s a really large project, so it would have to be done in conjunction with paving that part of Pine Street.”
Brandon Wilson, district permit engineer with SCDOT, confirmed that the work order had been created for signs for the curve and said that while there is no set installation date, the signs should be installed within six weeks.
There are currently no scheduled plans for road work on Pine Street north of East Main.