CAMDEN, S.C. — Roadwork has begun on Highway 1 in Camden, as the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) works on its Pavement Improvement Program.
The roadwork will delay or divert drivers taking Highway 1 from Roberts Street to Chestnut Ferry Road for the next four weeks as work is done between the hours of 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
"I think it is beneficial to do it," said Marney Woolridge, who regularly commutes on Highway 1 from Camden to Lugoff.
Woolridge says she's happy improvements are being made, but says the roadwork, even though it takes place overnight, is still causing her daily drive to be full of stops.
"Traffic is a lot slower and I am seeing some of the bigger trucks come in so it can be hazardous, and it does slow things down," Woolridge said.
Others, like John Rice, who works in front of the construction, say the changes are a welcome sigh, but he wants to see even more improvements.
"They do need to be done, but also you've got secondary roads that are even worse than this," Rice said.
SCDOT said in a statement that the paving project is part of the agency's 10-year strategic plan:
More than $2.5 billion from the state's new gas tax has been directed to more than 7,000 miles of paving projects to improve the percent good of the network.
SCDOT also announced that their commission approved adding 877 more miles of state roads to their improvement project list.