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Richland County committee adopts updated Penny 2 project list, removes Polo Road widening, adds Spears Creek sidewalks
Summary
A Richland County transportation committee approved Transportation Penny Advisory Committee recommendations to update the Penny 2 project list, removing Polo Road reconstruction/widening and adding sidewalks for Spears Creek Church Road; staff said the Spears Creek construction base is about $9 million and about $12.8 million with soft costs.
Members of the Richland County Transportation Ad Hoc Committee voted unanimously to adopt Transportation Penny Advisory Committee recommendations that revise the county’s Penny 2 projects list, removing Polo Road reconstruction and adding sidewalks for Spears Creek Church Road.
Committee members said the list will feed into the county’s Penny 2 prioritization. Staff told members that the Polo Road element was removed because a more complete design—prompted by South Carolina Department of Transportation comments—expanded the project scope to add widening in key segments and at least one intersection improvement, which altered its fit for the current needs list. Staff also said the Spears Creek Church Road project, previously descoped, is being redesigned with space for sidewalks and is now in land acquisition.
Director Maloney (staff) and other staff members described cost estimates presented with the list: staff reported a construction-base cost of about $9,000,000 for the Spears Creek sidewalks and an estimated $12.8 million when engineering, land acquisition and other “soft” costs are included. Staff also told the committee that the county is maintaining project and program reserves created by the council to cover inflation and cost fluctuations.
Committee members discussed coordination with the City regarding high-cost projects on the greenway network, noting that Gills Creek North was listed as the most expensive project (shown in the needs list at roughly $36,000,000) and that city review could affect routing and scope. Staff said any further changes would be brought back to the committee.
The motion to approve the Transportation Penny Advisory Committee recommendations passed on a roll call vote: Member Pugh, Member Livingston, Member Weaver, Member Aline and Member Mackie voted yes.
Background: Transportation Penny Advisory Committee (TPAC) voted unanimously on its Jan. 7 meeting to forward the changes to the committee for approval, staff said. The revisions reflect work since 2020–2021 that re-scoped some projects and restored portions of earlier designs.
