FLORENCE COUNTY, SC (WBTW)- South Carolina Department of Transportation crews are still working in Florence County to repair roads damaged by the flood.
In the last few weeks, the county’s SCDOT Maintenance Director Al Griggs says crews have worked around-the-clock to repair roads.
“We’ve had to deal with a lot of washouts, roads being gone, a lot of culverts pipes just being blown out from the excess of rain and water,” said Griggs.
Two weeks ago, part of Old River Road in Florence County was completely washed away, exposing a twenty-foot hole in the ground.
Thursday, crews worked to cover that hole by packing sand and preparing it to be paved.
Crews say they’re no longer having to work around-the-clock and are trying to get back to normal operations, but that we may still see some long-term effects from the flood.
“We had roads that were just submerged underwater. Obviously, that’s not good for the road. It can weaken the base which can cause the asphalt to start to crumble, and that’s where you get your potholes and stuff from,” said Griggs.
Parts of SC 51, Secondary 57, Highway 34, Country Club Road in Lake City, and Hill Harrell Road in Effingham are still closed.
Griggs says they hope to have some of those roads open in two weeks, but because they are big projects, it may take longer.
The Florence County Department of Transportation says they are working with crews from Marion, Dillon, Darlington, and Williamsburg to have roads open as soon as possible
