- Hello, and welcome to the virtual public hearing for the Woodruff Road Congestion Relief Project in Greenville County, South Carolina. I'm Casey Lucas, project manager for the South Carolina Department of Transportation. Public hearings are usually in-person events, but due to COVID-19 guidance for public gatherings, SCDOT is conducting this hearing for the project online. The purpose of the virtual public hearing is to gather input from you, our customers, and to provide an opportunity for you to review and discuss the plans of the proposed project with project representatives. This hearing also serves as a notice to the public that the environmental assessment is available for review. The environmental assessment describes the anticipated environmental impacts of the proposed project. If you are interested, you may access the environmental assessment by clicking on the link provided. The virtual public hearing will outline the project purpose and next steps. We also describe the proposed preferred alternative and information on other alternatives studied, and why they were not carried forward as the preferred. SCDOT encourages you to review the information on how we reached a preferred alternative and to provide comments. We are excited to share this information with you and to hear your input about this project. Lauren Roeder, SCDOT media specialist, will now provide more information on the virtual public hearing process, and on the project.

- [Lauren] This virtual public hearing is in lieu of an in-person hearing and will present the same information that would have been shared at an in-person public meeting. All materials you would see in person are available online through the project website. However, the comment process will be different. You may make a formal verbal comment by leaving a voice message, or by submitting a written comment using an online comment form, or by mailing your comments to SCDOT. You'll also have the opportunity to take a survey about the preferred alternative. You can find out more about how to submit a comment, and specifically how to submit a formal verbal comment, by clicking on the Comments tab at the top of the screen. If you need hard copies of materials, please contact Casey Lucas, whose contact information can be found on the virtual public hearing postcard and on the Comments tab of this website. The virtual public hearing will cover the project background, preferred alternative, what's next, right-of-way concerns, frequently asked questions, and finally, how to make a formal comment. To view all materials and navigate the virtual public hearing, click the tabs at the top of the web page or simply scroll down as you finish reviewing each section. The preferred alternative tab, right-of-way concerns, what's next, and comments tabs each have short videos associated with them to provide more information. General information about this virtual public hearing, its purpose, and the environmental assessment availability are outlined in this current tab. For more information, you can also click on the project handout link to download an electronic copy of the handout, which is just like a handout you would receive at an in-person public hearing. If you have questions after reviewing the project information provided online, there will be four opportunities to ask questions and speak to a member of the project team through a live telephone hotline. The hotline number is 888-877-9151. The hotline dates and times are as follows. Tuesday, July 14, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Wednesday, July 22, from 1 to 3 p.m., Thursday, July 30, from 5 to 7 p.m., and Tuesday, August 4, from 3 to 5 p.m. Please note that questions and answers discussed during the hotlines will not be part of the official public record and SCDOT will not provide written responses. So we encourage you to leave an official formal comment through one of the means provided, which are listed in the Comments tab.