GETTING ANSWERS: Old Easley Bridge Road

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - We listened to you about which roads need work done in The Upstate.

You told us Old Easley Bridge Road is one of them.

The road goes through Greenville and Easley—crossing through Pickens and Greenville Counties. However, the main concern is the spot between White Horse Road and The Saluda River.

Undra Johnson says there are potholes from start to finish.

“Driving on Old Easley Bridge Road is like driving on rocks, literally,” Johnson said.

Johnson is passionate about seeing change on this road.

“On a scale from one to ten, it’ll be at a ten, as importance,” said Johnson.

Kenneth Martin echoes Johnson’s experience.

“Awful. The roads are awful,” Martin said.

Martin uses the same adjective over and over to describe it.

“Oh, man, it’s awful,” said Martin, “And it sounds like the car is going to fall apart.”

The road stretches about three miles from White Horse Road, almost to Highway 153.

“There are potholes every five seconds. And a lot of people get flat tires from the potholes,” Johnson said, “And this road is a very dangerous road because of the potholes. People lose control of their cars.”

The state’s Department of Transportation says they’ve had two, vehicle damage claims since 2020. Both were paid. And they repaired six potholes in the past year. However, Madge Mahon believes she could do a better job.

“I’ve got a lot of cat litter. I’ll fill it up for you,” Mahon said.

The DOT says over 2,000 vehicles travel this road daily. Martin predicts more claims are coming.

“Everybody wants to be safe driving down the road,” Martin said, “They want to ride on smooth roads; no big, ‘ole potholes in the road. Tears your cars up.”

Plus, with the road’s current state, Johnson says, if anything, paving the road would take away some of the dangers.

“I wouldn’t really feel safe with the roads being like they are, because it’s so bumpy,” Johnson said.

The SCDOT says no paving is currently scheduled. And no word on the last time this road was paved. Drivers also asked about traffic lights and turn signals. No additional work is on the way. The District Office is not aware of any requests for this road for lights or signs that could be found in their system for the last three years.

Mahon says she’s done with the patch jobs. Old Easley Bridge Road needs something more.

“We pay state taxes. Use our money. Pave these roads,” said Mahon.

The road will be evaluated for the 2023-2024 paving program. New paving projects would be approved in May 2023. We’ll be sure to check back to see what happens.

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