COLUMBIA, S.C. — A plan is now in place to evaluate the James Clyburn Pedestrian Bridge after residents expressed concerns about safely crossing the walkway at night.
Community members believe the situation could improve with a little maintenance.
The bridge connects Busby Street to Ripplemeyer Avenue and Lester Drive over Highway 277.
We spoke with Tyrone Bradley Thursday about safety concerns on the bridge.
"It should be clear to where people can see without being afraid," said Bradley about overgrown bushes around the base of the bridge.
24 hours later, it looks like change is coming.
Bradley volunteers with Save Our Kids, LLC, a local organization that helps pick up trash on the bridge. He said a few small changes could have a big impact on pedestrian safety.
"We can fix this by cutting the brush down, clean the bridge up and have more lighting and police presence," said Bradley. "Then I think we'll be OK."
Many are reluctant to walk the bridge at night and will instead risk their lives by running across 277 to get to the other side.
"Everybody turns a deaf ear to what's happening," said Bradley. "They're like, 'Ok, we'll get to it', but at their own leisure. At the same time, people are still dying, things are still happening and we still need to have the job done."
Friday in a phone call with SCDOT Engineer for Richland County, Tony Magwood, we learned a full review of the bridge is scheduled for Monday morning.
Magwood also said officials with the City of Columbia and the State Department of Transportation are teaming up to address these issues.
"The DOT as well as the City of Columbia are always concerned about the appearance of our infrastructure, so we're partnering so we can move forward with evaluating what's currently in place that's a problem and what we can do to mitigate it," said Magwood.
The vegetation around the bridge is on rotation to be cut and cleared the week after next.
Litter on the property will also be addressed Monday, along with vandalism on the bridge.
"Typically we come in and take a look at areas prone to graffiti, and every 12 to 18 months we try to go ahead to take that away, unless we have something extremely vulgar that's out there that's extremely visible to the traveling public," Magwood added.
SC-277 is also a major primary, mowed routinely six times a year in conjunction with other interstates around the greater Columbia area, Magwood said.
When the Clyburn Pedestrian Bridge was originally constructed, SCDOT included an anti-graffiti coating on the paint to make cleaning the structure easier.
Stick with News 19 as we continue to follow this story.