The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) today launched its online virtual public information meeting website where people can view information about the recommended preferred alternative design for the replacement of the Blossom Street Bridge over rail lines near downtown Columbia.
The online public meeting at www.blossombridgeproject.com features information about SCDOT's recommended design, called the preferred alternative, for the new bridge. It would replace the current bridge over the Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation rail lines between Huger and Gadsden Streets. Built-in 1953, the current bridge is aging and must be replaced with infrastructure that meets current design standards.
"Public comment and involvement are critical to our planning and design process for this new bridge that will serve the community for decades to come," said Joey McIntyre, Project Manager for the Blossom Bridge project. "We encourage people to go to the public meeting website and provide us with input."
The recommended preferred alternative would replace the current bridge with a new three-span bridge. The proposed bridge would have several notable changes:
- the addition of pedestrian sidewalks on the bridge,
- a new multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists adjacent to and underneath the bridge that would replace the current vehicle loop,
- removal of parking underneath the bridge,
- and a shorter bridge length with longer supporting walls.
Virtual Public Information Meeting – Live Now Through December 16, 2020
The public can attend this information meeting online anytime, 24 hours a day, seven days a week through December 16, 2020. The meeting can be accessed via the project website at www.blossombridgeproject.com.
If you have limited access to the internet, please call (803)509-6660 to request a physical copy of the online meeting materials.
Comments may be submitted to Project Manager Joey McIntyre through December 16 th by way of:
- the website: www.blossombridgeproject.com
- email: info@blossombridgeproject.com
- phone: (803) 509-6660
- standard mail: Blossom Bridge Project, Attn: Joey McIntyre, Post Office Box 191, Columbia, SC 29202-0191.
The Blossom Bridge project is part of SCDOT's 10-Year Plan to improve the state's roads and bridges after 30 years of underfunded, deferred maintenance. The plan began with the enactment of the state gas tax increase in July 2017. The increase provides sustainable funding to improve the safety of our most dangerous rural roads, resurface our most traveled and aging corridors, repair or replace deteriorating bridges, and improve key portions of our interstates.
To learn more about the project, please visit the project website at www.blossombridgeproject.com.
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Media Contact:
Ted Creech
SCDOT PR/Communications
803-737-1560
creechjt@scdot.org