GETTING ANSWERS: Pleasantburg Drive

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Drivers tell us they want smoother pavement and more traffic lights on Pleasantburg Drive, in Greenville County.

Plesantburg is about seven miles long, running between US-29 and I-85, in Greenville. You’ll find Greenville Technical College and Bob Jones University off this road.

The pavement near Bob Jones received the most complaints due to the rough patches. The state’s Department of Transportation patched 15 potholes over the last year.

We caught Judy Mundy after taking North Pleasantburg coming from Laurens.

“There’s a lot of traffic,” Mundy continues, “It was awful.”

Traffic continued to come up over and over again. Brandin Shaw says it’s most noticeable near the Exxon gas station.

“It’s a little hectic,” Shaw continues, “because of the lights, right here. And it’s so much clutter going on. And it’s so much traffic.”

Chris Durham has worked for Beads Galore Displays and More, off Pleasantburg, for 37 years. He says trying to leave the shopping center can be dangerous.

“It’s impossible to get in and out, some days,” Durham continues, “because if you try to get out of the shopping center and go left, you can’t—no matter how long you sit there.”

The SCDOT says a whopping 45,900 vehicles commute this road daily. Durham believes the road needs more traffic lights for safety.

“I see wrecks out here—constantly. People try to go left. ‘Bang!” said Durham.

The state Highway Patrol reports 2,454 collisions on Pleasantburg Drive from 2017-2022. That’s about 480 accidents per year, at least one a day.

“People my age can’t afford to repair their car when they hit one of those rough areas,” said Mundy.

The SCDOT says three vehicles have filed damage claims from 2021 to 2022.

“I hit a rough area that it kind of bounced my whole car,” Mundy said.

Along with traffic lights, Shaw says a pave is long overdue.

“You get little bumps in the road, because the road is so old now,” said Shaw, “They don’t really work on this road, right here, because it’s so much going on.”

Shaw says new pavement comes with benefits for everyone.

“If you have smooth roads, it will make your car run smoother. You won’t have flat tires,” Shaw said, “Stuff won’t hit the bottom of your car and mess it up.”

The portion from just south of Lowdnes Hill Road to Edwards Road was included in the 2023 Pavement Improvement Program, according to the DOT. The contract has a tentative letting date of March of next year. Improvements should start soon after, dependent on the contractors. The part from the US-29 connector to North of Edwards Road and Wade Hampton Boulevard will also be addressed during this contract.

However, the only location requested for a traffic light is near Montebello Drive. The SCDOT denied this because, as a private roadway, a signal study would need to be initiated by the owner of the roadway, and if warranted and agreed upon by SCDOT, the owner would need to pay for and install the signal, as well as take ownership of the electric bill.

There are no additional plans for signals. Drivers should reach out to the department.

“Just filling in potholes is not going to solve the problem for the main road,” Durham said, “I mean, it completely needs to be re-done from one end to the other.”

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