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Northeast Business Association

105 Summit Centre Circle

Columbia, SC 29229

803-865-9497

Northeast Business Association

Welcome To MakeHardscrabbleSafe.org

Welcome! Please help improve the safety of our children, families and neighbors in northeast Columbia, SC, by signing the petition to expedite the widening of Hardscrabble Road from 2 (two) lanes to 5 (five) lanes between Farrow Road and Kelly Mill Road.

Hardscrabble Road – Fast Facts

Operates at a Level F (state of constant failure)
From 2000 to 2004 there were 561 accidents and 2 fatalities

Without a bonding program for Hardscrabble Road expansion, the status of the project is:

Bottom of the list for road projects
Work expected to begin in 2025 – 20 years from now

How You Can Help Fix Hardscrabble Road

MAY 2006 UPDATE: 5 Things You Can Do To Help! Download the PDF and share it with your friends. (You'll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe to view and print the May 2006 Update. Download Acrobat Reader for free directly from Adobe, here.)

Sign the petition online (click here!)
Forward the online petition by e-mail to your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and anyone else interested in the safety of our children, families and neighbors in northeast Columbia. Encourage them to sign the petition and share it with their contacts!
Print out a petition and collect signatures at your homeowners association meeting, your church, community events, etc. There's no such thing as too many signatures! (You'll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader from Adobe to view and print the paper-based petition. Download Acrobat Reader for free directly from Adobe, here.)

Traffic Jam!

By Michael Letts

Northeast Fine Living, Spring 2005, page 27

The Northeast neighborhoods of Richland County have experienced some of the greatest growth anywhere in our state. There are benefits to those of us who make this area our home, such as a broader economic and tax base, increased property values, and greater recreational, dining and retail diversity. The growth also creates challenges and inconveniences that we must unite together to collectively solve.

An overburdened road system is one of our greatest challenges. Hardscrabble Road is one of the most noticeable in our area due to its overcrowded status. It currently operates at a level F (meaning it is so over taxed for the traffic capacity it was to accommodate, that it operates in a constant state of failure.) The numbers are extremely troubling when compared to other areas. During a five year period from 2000 to 2004, there have been 561 automobile crashes with two separate incidents of death, including children. The number of accidents has increased yearly. Hardscrabble Road and unsafe congestion go hand in hand.

While we all recognize the problem, what can we do together to enact a solution? The current status for the widening of Hardscrabble Road from Farrow Road to Clemson Road is the last project approved of the financially constrained transportation plan of the Central Midlands Council of Governments. The estimated cost of the project is $19,400,000 with pre-engineering and design work expected to begin approximately Fiscal Year 2020. Construction time would take around three to five years. This does not include widening Hardscrabble to Kelly Mill Road, an element that I deem essential.

Central Midlands Council of Governments (CMCOG) determines the priority and destination of federal aid projects for the majority of its four county regions – Richland, Lexington, Fairfield, Newberry, and the Elgin area of Kershaw.

The estimated road improvement needs for the area designated is well over 300 million dollars. Our area receives approximately 13 million in federal guideshare annually to meet the need. Over the last number of years, the SCDOT allowed us to participate in a bonding program that allowed for construction of over 150 million dollars in projects such as Clemson Road, US 378 in Lexington, 12th Street Extension, and SC 6 among a multitude of projects within the jurisdiction of the area. One possible solution is to enter a new bonding program to cover the additional projects listed in the transportation program which would be in excess of $200 million. This would have to be approved by the SCDOT Commission. It would enable us to complete many essential projects within a five year period and at a great savings in terms of today's construction dollars.

The bonds would be paid back with a portion of the guideshare being designated for repayment over the life of the bond. An additional possibility is to have the Hardscrabble Road project inserted into the federal budget as a special demonstration project for funding in the next budget cycle. This is a congressional matter which is more difficult to accomplish but has been done in the past. Congressman Joe Wilson and State Senator Joel Lourie, among other leaders, are working to help us make a solution a reality sooner instead of the projected 20 years currently scheduled. We must be a part of the solution to help.

I encourage you to sign the online petition. The best solutions come when we all participate. Should you have additional comments or questions, please feel free to call 803-865-9497 or send an e-mail to mail@michaelkoska.com. Together we can make it happen!