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Columbia County: Horizon South Parkway widening continues amid weather and utility delays
Summary
Columbia County project manager Byron Sullivan says crews are focused on underground storm-drain and grading work as the Horizon South Parkway conversion from two lanes to five advances slowly after rain and unforeseen utilities caused delays; a completion date was not specified.
Columbia County community engagement specialist Hallie Turner interviewed Byron Sullivan, project manager for the Horizon South Parkway widening, on a Building Columbia County episode about the project's status.
Sullivan said the project, which began in February 2023, will convert the existing two-lane roadway into a five-lane corridor with two travel lanes in each direction, a center left-turn lane and additional individual left-turn and deceleration lanes. "In the end, it's gonna be a 5 lane project," Sullivan said.
The project follows the usual sequence of phases, Sullivan said: design concept, environmental review, right-of-way acquisition, permitting, advertising and letting, clearing, utility relocation, grading, placement of granular aggregate base (GAB), concrete work, paving, striping and signage. He described relocation of existing utilities and installation of proposed utilities as a labor-intensive step that must precede most surface work.
Turner noted the timeline has extended beyond initial expectations — "We started in 2023, and we're still here in 2026," she said — and asked about causes. Sullivan identified two main challenges: weather interruptions (rain) that prevent work on some tasks, and unforeseen site conditions, specifically utilities not previously identified that must be relocated. "The challenge has just been, mainly the weather condition... and a lot of unforeseen conditions that... might be existing utilities," he said.
On the ground now, Sullivan said crews are focused on grading, moving dirt and installing storm-drain pipe and other underground systems. "There's a lot of work that's being done that the traveling public don't see because it's underground," he said, adding that where underground utilities are clear crews can continue grading and prepare subgrade.
Looking ahead, Sullivan said the next visible milestones are setting the subgrade for GAB and then moving to concrete crews to install curbs. He characterized those steps as contingent on favorable weather and completion of utility relocations. A firm project completion date, contract amount or funding breakdown was not specified in the interview.
Turner closed the episode by thanking Sullivan and noting the program will return in a couple of months for another update on progress.
