GETTING ANSWERS: North Fish Trap Road follow up

EASLEY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - We are following up on the roads we cover through “Getting Answers.”

We tackled North Fish Trap Road, in Easley, back in May 2021. This road runs from Highway 123 to Saluda Dam Road.

Drivers tell us they’re not seeing much of a difference in the eight months that have passed.

Freddie Jewsbury is one of them.

“I have not seen any progress,” Jewsbury said, “I think it has deteriorated tremendously.”

Jewsbury believes it has been decades since this road was paved.

“The road has been like this for as far as I can remember. I grew up here, on this road, myself. And as a young girl... so that has been... I’m 84 years old. So, that has been a number of years.”

Rudolph Aiken agrees.

“I’ve seen no improvements,” Aiken said, “They’ve come down several times putting this patch stuff down, but it just washes away.”

Aiken says the drive keeps getting worse and worse.

“It’s like running over a railroad track going down through there,” Aiken said, “I can’t keep the front end of my cars lined up. It’s just horrible.”

Last Spring, officials told us their goal was for the work to be complete by the end of 2021. Aiken says that has come and gone.

“I think they lied,” Aiken said, “I don’t know why they won’t do it.”

Jewsbury says she was able to get some work done on the bridge, but not the pavement.

“I was very disappointed,” Jewsbury said, “I kept looking, and listening, and waiting to see any of the trucks that might be coming in the area and making the initial surface changes that had to be done—never saw that.”

The state’s Department of Transportation says this is a Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Project (GPATS). They say no, physical work has started at all. The project design is in progress but has been delayed. Though, they have patched five potholes since then; which Aiken hasn’t noticed.

“The more they patch, the worse it gets because they keep patching it, and the patches keep coming up,” said Aiken, “Pretty soon, there isn’t going to be anything but a patched road. There’s not going be any asphalt at all—just tar and gravel.”

The new goal is to finish the work this year.

“Anytime, I would be happy. And, I know, a number of people here would be too,” said Jewsbury.

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