ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C (WSPA) — Anderson County has received a $9,271,519 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission Local Access Road program to make road improvements. According to the county, the construction will happen near SC-81 and I-85 Exit 27.
The improvements are being made in anticipation of new jobs being created at nearby manufacturing companies.
According to Steve Newton, the county’s governmental affairs director, several companies, including TTI/Ryobi and Robert Bosch Corporation, plan to build new facilities on their properties. He said this will result in about 1,350 new jobs.
“Our region is booming,” Newton said. “We can’t really ignore it or turn a blind eye to it.”
Anderson County will begin construction on two projects in about a year. Newton said they plan to improve the I-85 Exit 27 southbound offramp.
“We’ll end up being able to extend that ramp further out down the interstate, widen it, provide a better right of way there, and be able to better manage the traffic that’s coming off the interstate,” Newton said.
The county also plans to extend Orange Way to give employees a more direct way to access TTI/Ryobi’s facility, according to Newton.
“That will help smooth out the flow of traffic that we expected to be generated by TTI’s investments here,” Newton said.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2025.
