COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Residents are speaking out after promised repairs to a dangerous dead-end road in Richland County have still not been made.
Back in June, WIS reported on this half-mile stretch of St. Andrews Road in Richland County that has seen 45 crashes and 22 people hurt in the last five years.
Following WIS’s reporting, Richland County, which is responsible for maintaining the roads, said it would resurface the road in September.
But that hasn’t happened yet.
Drivers on this road are feeling let down and even more frustrated after learning that the resurfacing will now not happen until the summer of 2026 due to the contractor being backlogged with other “high priority” projects, the county said.
“That’s so disappointing. We’ve been waiting, and it’s been years and years and years. To have another delay is so frustrating,” Richard Cole says.
Cole initially reached out to WIS in June, complaining about the road’s bumpiness, potholes and general unsafe conditions.
“It’s gotta be one of the most unsafe roads in all of the area, the entire community. And yet they don’t repair it. We’re waiting for some tragedy, someone to get hurt or killed? It’s just terrible,” he said.
Richland County said that it would continue to do repairs on the road on an as-needed basis in the interim.
“Well, when you put the life and safety of children behind other projects, that says a lot about what their priorities are,” Chris Walden said.
One of the worst areas of the road is in front of the Gleamns Head Start Early Learning Center.
“It’s the roughest point of the entire road is in front of the Head Start. What if one of these little kids get hit? How awful that would be,” Cole said.
The center has said that they have had to stagger drop-off and pick-up times to try and make conditions safer.
“We take extra precautions with us to ensure our families are not in danger, not going to get hit,” Chevelle Gilyard, a Gleamns Head Start employee, said.
Jimmy Marrello, an employee with Palmetto State Glass, said that the road being in disrepair can be incredibly costly for the business.
“This road presents a hazard because it can break glass. Not an ideal surface to move glass on,” he said.
Cole has a simple message for the county.
“Please respond. It can’t wait. It’s just getting worse and worse. Please help,” he said.
Since our June report, there has been another collision on the road.
WIS has asked the county for what specific repairs they plan on doing in the meantime, but they have not responded.
Have bad roads? Click here to send us a tip or contact “Road Ranger” Nick Neville directly at Nick.Neville@wistv.com.
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