ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — Anderson County will create a “community-wide safety action plan” aimed at improving its roads.
The county was awarded a $200,000 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which will be used to develop the plan.
“We’re going to be identifying where problem areas are and looking at different solutions,” Steve Newton, the county’s governmental affairs director, said.
Newton said the county will examine busy roads and consider adding sidewalks, bike lanes and lights. They will also look at side roads that have become popular areas for drivers to cut through to avoid traffic.
“Those roads were not really designed for a higher volume of traffic,” Newton explained. “They don’t necessarily need to be widened at all, but we can look at a series of improvements that might involve shoulder widening and adjusting curves.”
“We’ll be looking at areas where we can improve the performance of the road to avoid people from going off the side of the road, improving intersections and watching out for blind spots,” he added.
Once the safety action plan is created, the county will work to secure funding to begin the renovations.
“Hopefully, we can provide a safer community for the people,” he said.
Newton said he hopes the plan is completed in 18 months.
