GETTING ANSWERS: Fairview Road

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - We are checking out roads in the Upstate that need to be upgraded.

Our requests led us to Fairview Road, in Greenville County.

The road goes through Greer and Taylors. Two, major roads surround it: North Rutherford Road and Wade Hampton Boulevard (Highway 29). It also connects to Locust Hill Road—one we’ve covered before.

Drivers say Fairview Road is too busy for the number of potholes it has.

Alan Berbin has only lived in the area for about a month.

“It sounds like you’re in a washing machine with a bunch of gravel and just getting rattled around,” Berbin said, “It’s super bad. It’s really bumpy, really rough roads.”

The state’s Department of Transportation says 3,600 vehicles travel this road daily. John Slusz has noticed.

“The traffic, on this road that we’re talking about, has virtually doubled in the last 5 to 7 years,”said Slusz.

The road is about a mile long, but the SCDOT has fixed 11 potholes in the last year.

Lisa Slice was one of the many who submitted to Getting Answers.

“Very patched and bumpy,” Slice said, “And anytime there’s a heavy rain or when we have the snow and ice, it’s just holes again that they have to re-patch.”

Sulsz has lived off the road for around 20 years. He says he’s used to the obstacle course to get home.

“You have to go very slow. You have to veer into the breakdown lane to avoid the potholes. You scare the people coming at you,” Sulsz said.

Berbin says even he knows to avoid the huge hole near Josey’s Chuck Wagon restaurant, in Taylors.

“[There’s] a hole on the side of the shoulder that just really isn’t great,” said Berbin, “If you take that curve too sharp, you’ll go in the hole and bottom out.”

Once you turn on Fairview from Wade Hampton, the problems start there. However, once the road forks—splitting North Rutherford and Fairview, it smoothens out as you head toward Greer. I noticed less traffic heading that way versus in the Taylors area.

“They all break down overtime, but that one has just really been let go—probably should be resurfaced entirely and not just a little patch here and there,” Berbin said.

The DOT confirms Fairview Road will be part of the 2022-2023 Pavement Improvement Program. No word on when it was last paved. Slice says she hasn’t seen a pave since 1993.

“I feel like the road needs to be repaved, absolutely. And the patching is just not working, in my opinion,” said Slice.

The letting process is usually between September 2022 and March 2023, according to the SCDOT. Hopefully, that means work can start by Spring of next year. We’ll be sure to follow up then.

“It would mean a lot to us and help our community that’s growing so much already,” Slice said.

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