Afternoon traffic: Catawba River bridge at half capacity, southbound traffic shifted
The York County Sheriff’s department announced at 1 p.m. on Friday that southbound traffic on I-77 in York County has officially switched to the northbound side of the Catawba river bridge.
Work at the bridge over the Catawba River will cause the southbound lanes to be closed for the next 17 days. The traffic will cause what the South Carolina Department of Transportation predicts to be significant delays for drivers.
Traffic was flowing smoothly around 4 p.m. Friday, with the exception of a significant south-bound backup between Exit-90 (Carowinds Bouvelard-Fort Mill) and Exit 83 (Sutton Road-Fort Mill).
At 3:45 Friday, traffic cameras reported “congestion” in the area with an average speed of 21 mph. SCDOT reports show traffic backed up for six miles.
Travelers can use 511sc.org to find the fastest routes from place to place. Based on directions provided on the website, a commute from Rock Hill to Charlotte takes 40 minutes; from Fort Mill to Charlotte, 29 minutes. Charlotte to Columbia is currently shown as taking 2 hours and 20 minutes; from Columbia to Charlotte, 1 hour and 42 minutes.
Users also can use 511sc.org to view traffic cameras and check for traffic jams. Use the search function within the “Cameras” window and search for “Catawba River Bridge” or users can choose I-77 from the drop down and scroll until the Catawba River Bridge appears.
The southbound bridge will be closed for 17 days, according to the S.C. Department of Transportation.
More than 120,000 vehicles normally use the bridge each weekday, DOT says. I-77 is the main route for commercial and personal travel between Charlotte and Columbia.
Police urge drivers to seek alternate routes such as U.S. 21, S.C. 49, and U.S. 521 in Lancaster County.
U.S. 21 is the main detour. The U.S. 21 bridge carries traffic north and south for connection to I-77 in Fort Mill and northern York County near Charlotte.
