I have talked about this on the air and in social media forever: Highway 17 from the Georgia State Line (Talmadge Bridge) through Hwy 315 (formerly 170 Alternate) has been a nightmare to drive on a daily basis. The road was buckling, had pot holes, cracks, and was not being maintained.
It seemed following the untimely death of Don Logana there was suddenly more attention paid (is that what it takes?). There was a meeting in Hardeeville in February about finally widening the road to four lanes (and eventually four-laning the Back River Bridge).
Following that meeting, the DOT agreed to widen the road AND to repave it to ease the discomfort of drivers like me. First they would repave (I was initially told it would be completed by the end of the year), then begin work on widening to four lanes after which a second Back River Bridge would be built (SC pays 90%, GA pays 10%).
Work on repaving US17 began last month, initially resurfacing the most needed sections.
Then last week, we saw it: the entire northbound lane was repaved. And today, believe it or not, I saw that both lanes were totally repaved. This was the first time I've driven that road when my car said to me "tell them thanks." Wow, what a pleasure to have a smooth road.
I'll keep you posted as the widening project progresses.
This is what US17 looked like before the road improvements.