FUN FACT FOR THE DAY: The intersection at Main Street and Butler is the second busiest intersection in Greenville County. (Now you’re wondering what the busiest is. It’s Pleasantburg and Wade Hampton.)
Our residential population is north of 25,000 people, and the new Census data will show how north of 25,000 we are, but that’s what we call our “nighttime population.”
Mauldin is on the move
Our traffic numbers during the day with people moving through the city to get to work or home or those who are coming to Mauldin to play at a park, take in a concert at the Cultural Center, participate in a program at the Senior Center, or eat at one of our restaurants add a lot more people and cars to move safely and efficiently.
Keeping up with infrastructure is a tough task, and it can be one of the most frustrating issues to tackle, but we’re working on it.
From a residential street standpoint, we’re fortunate enough to work on an annual basis to participate in a program where city funds match county-controlled funds that come from the state. As part of the Greenville Paving Program (Municipal Match Resurfacing Program), these funds are dedicated specifically to paving city-owned roads. Last fiscal year, council appropriated $191,954.41 for participation in the paving program through the Greenville Legislative Delegation Transportation Committee (also known as the County Transportation Committee or CTC). As a result, CTC matched the $191,954.41 for a total of $383,908.82. Based on cost estimates and after reviewing the list of greatest paving needs that the Public Works department compiled, five roads at a little more than a mile in total distance were selected to be paved.
If you travel East Butler toward I-385, you’re going to see some changes there soon. Several years ago, the stretch from East Butler and I-385 was widened to four lanes all the way down to the high school. One thing that wasn’t accounted for was the expansion that would occur at the Millport at Butler development. Now with three large corporate office buildings, including BB&T’s 140,000-square-foot mortgage servicing center, J. Peters restaurant, and a Courtyard by Marriott hotel (currently under construction), the vehicular traffic pattern is changing that area. To address it, work will soon be underway to ease the rush hour backup.
At that location, the current location of Rothwell Dr. will close and be relocated further down – specifically, no less than 700 feet from the E. Butler Rd. and I-385 interchange. At that point, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) will signalize the intersection at the new location of Rothwell Dr.
These are just a couple of glimpses into what’s happening with infrastructure improvements in Mauldin, but there will be more on the way, and at least one of them will have SCDOT soliciting Mauldin residents for public input and comment. As soon as there’s more to tell about those projects, I’ll let you know.
Oh, one more thing. When people call me about a road issue, the first thing we have to look at is whether or not it’s a city road we’re talking about. Some roads are funded and maintained by the city, some by the county, and most by the state. Looking at street signage, there’s no easy way to tell who controls what road, but here’s a little tip. SCDOT has a web-based app simply called “SCDOT Street Finder.” The actual web address is confusing, so to simplify it, you can go to: bit.ly/scdotstreetfinder and see for yourself.
— Taft Matney serves in Seat 1 on Mauldin city Council. He can be reached at tmatney@mauldincitysc.com.■
