SANTEE, S.C. — As a child growing up in Sumter, Congressman Jim Clyburn said he could remember the little two-lane bridge that crossed Lake Marion.
Clyburn said his mother refused to travel across the bridge with his father, who pastored in Orangeburg County, forcing him and his brothers to make the trip.
Monday, he said, was a "full circle" moment, as the 6th District congressman helped break ground with state and federal leaders on the long-anticipated Interstate 95 Lake Marion bridge replacement project.
"Not only will this cause me to look to the future, but, quite frankly, every day I think about that experience, crossing that bridge as a kid, and it makes me believe in this state more than than I ever have," he said.
Starting this summer, crews will begin work to replace the aging Interstate 95 bridges in Clarendon and Orangeburg counties — a more than $400 million economic development project that officials hailed as vital for South Carolina and for the East Coast.
About 40,000 cars and trucks travel the bridges per day for work and travel, using the bridge to drive from Maine all the way to Miami. The bridges are also used as a major hurricane evacuation route.
Officials said the replacement will help ease congestion, improve connectivity for commerce and even help further expand needed water service.
Federal Highway Administration Administrator Sean McMaster said the bridge replacement is not just about focusing on the traffic of today, it's also about prioritizing for tomorrow’s growth, he added.
The total cost of the replacement is somewhere around $420 million. About $175 million of that stems from a federal grant released about a year ago by the U.S. Department of Transportation, one of the largest grants received by the state transportation department.
"This project is not just important for the state of South Carolina," McMaster said. "We recognize the national and regional importance, up and down the East Coast, that support our economy."
State Transportation Secretary Justin Powell said work to replace the nearly 60-year-old bridges, which part of will include a walking and bicycle path, will take about 3.5 years.
The public will start to see the first phase of that work in the next few months.
Powell said the major thoroughfare will always remain at four lanes, with periodic lane closures. He said day-to-day travel will remain about the same.
Monday marked a milestone for DOT and the entire state, Powell said.
"Still a lot of work ahead of us," Powell said. (The project) will serve South Carolina and the nation for years to come."
