GETTING ANSWERS: Love Springs Road

GAFFNEY, SC (FOX Carolina) - We take you to Love Springs Road this week for Getting Answers.

It’s a road that runs from Highway 29 in Spartanburg County to Overbrook Road in Cherokee County.

Your Getting Answers submissions told us there were problems along the entire stretch of road.

And with Loves Springs being a connecting road from I-85 during the construction near the chutes, drivers wonder if there will ever be a solution to the roadway that’s falling apart.

Ronald Hollis has lived in Gaffney his entire life.

“Feels like a dirt road. And sounds like a roller coaster, at times,” Hollis said.

And Carl Giles says Love Springs Road hasn’t had any love in a long time.

“It’s crazy. So, the potholes—they seem like they get bigger,” said Giles.

The state’s Department of Transportation says it has been over 20 years since it was last paved. And that’s just because that’s as far back as their data will go.

“Worst part is just trying to avoid them. Every time you’re trying to drive down the road; it’s just weaving in and out of different potholes,” Giles said.

You can barely drive a few yards without hitting a patch.

“I’ve seen potholes that are quite a few inches deep,” Hollis said.

FOX Carolina’s Tresia Bowles was able fit her entire, size 7.5 shoe into one of the potholes.

The road runs from Cowpens to Gaffney.

“It’s just a quick connector when getting off 85 at the chute lane versus getting back on 85,” Hollis said, “It’s just an easy-access road because it lies perfectly in the middle of I-85 and Highway 29.”

We brought your concerns to the SCDOT. They told us, like many roads, it has deteriorated more rapidly in the past few years.

“Seek a better repair on that road. And find a better manner and method of replacing the patches with something that’s going to be a permanent fix instead of something so temporary,” said Hollis.

We were able to catch SCDOT doing some work on the road, but it didn’t appear they were fixing potholes. They did say Love Springs Road has been patched or leveled 25 times in the past year; as recently as July 12.

“Once a month, they’re out here filling them with black tar—whatever they do to fill them up. The next rainstorm comes. And it’s opened back up again,” said Giles.

The SCDOT says Love Springs Road has been selected to be included in the 2023 Resurfacing Program. The remaining funds spent on Federal Aid Secondary routes in Cherokee County will be used to begin resurfacing Love Springs Road. At this point, preliminary engineering and cost estimate has not been completed, so they are unsure if Love Springs Road will be completed with the 2023 Resurfacing Program. If not, it will be completed as part of the 2024 Resurfacing Program.

They maintain that they’ve addressed the safety issues.

Giles is just hoping for an improvement soon.

“With everything going on on 85, right now, this road, with it being blocked off constantly, every day with the chutes; it’s a high-traveled road. And I’ve got a kid. I’ve got an 18-month-old. And I just want it to be safe,” said Giles.

There is also an update on Burnt Gin Road. DOT says Burnt Gin Road was selected as part of the 2022 Resurfacing Program. Because of the length of Burnt Gin Road, it could not be completed in its entirety in a single year’s funding. The remaining portion of Burnt Gin will be completed with 2023 funds.

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