Four years after historic flood, Wilton Road slated to be repaired in Springdale

Published: Oct. 7, 2019 at 7:17 PM EDT
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LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WIS) - Four years after catastrophic flooding left many Midlands neighborhoods under 20 inches of water and claimed the lives of 19 people, a road damaged by the flooding will be fixed by the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

A dam that runs along a portion of Wilton Road in Springdale, near South Woodside Parkway, failed during the 2015 flood, causing water to rush over the roadway and ultimately wash out the road. Since then, the road has sat blocked off, closed to through traffic, as weeds begin to pop up between cracks in the cement and bushes rise out of the dirt where the roadway once sat.

According to SCDOT, the funding has been secured and a contract for the project is in place. It estimates work will begin to repair the road in November or December, with the contract detailing a completion date of April 2020. The project is estimated to cost about $616,000.

Early on, the DOT faced some legal issues, as the dam that failed is privately owned and sits on private property. Public money cannot be used on private property. Since then, the DOT resolved issues with the owner and said the appropriate repairs have been made.

Representative Micah Caskey, who lives in the area, said he is cautiously optimistic about the DOT’s announcement.

“It’s encouraging that DOT may now be doing this, I’ll believe it when I see it, but I’m encouraged by where we are,” said Caskey.

Many people who live nearby said they are frustrated by the lack of progress and despite attending several public input sessions held in the last several years, do not understand why the project is taking so long to complete. For many, it means an extra five miles on their commute, as they’re unable to use Wilton Road as a thoroughfare. Others are happy to see the amount of through traffic decrease with the closure.

“If we the government can do things a little less dumb, giving people a little less reason to hate government, that’s a good thing and I’m encouraged DOT is finally, hopefully going to give us that little bit here,” said Caskey.

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