Summit Parkway residents speak out on roadway construction in Richland County

RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. (WIS) - A Richland County neighborhood is getting significant upgrades on two main roads.

The upgrades will be done from the intersection of Hardscrabble Road to Summit Ridge Drive and Summit Ridge Drive from Summit Parkway to the entrance of Lake Carolina.

Work began about a month ago which included gutter and curb repairs, base repair and asphalt resurfacing.

Potholes, loose stone, debris, and slower speed limits in this construction zone in The Summit have raised concerns among those who live here.

James Kirk who has been a resident in the Summit for 15 years, has never seen the road conditions in his neighborhood like this before. Halfway through improvements to Summit Parkway, Kirk says work has stopped.

“It just seems like people are saying ‘Ok we’re just gonna leave it as it is right now and y’all just deal with it until we decide to come back,’ and this is terrible,” Kirk said. “In Richland County, we pay pretty much high taxes and they’re supposed to pay for the roads. We’re paying for taxes here and taxes there and there’s always a road tax and yet the roads are terrible.”

Residents like Tommy Williams are concerned over the lack of updates on the project.

“I think residents understand they’ll be a certain degree of discomfort with resurfacing of the roads which is not that big of an issue but when you stop the work on it with no explanation coming from anyone, that’s kinda sorta a slap in the face,” Williams said.

Richland County Councilman Overture Walker refutes the claims of a lack of communication. He tells WIS the public was notified of this project in September and nothing has changed.

According to a spokesperson for Richland County, the project is currently running on schedule and is expected to be finished by the end of November.

For information on how to report a claim, residents may contact Richland County’s Office of Risk Management for assistance.

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