GETTING ANSWERS: Dunklin Bridge Road

PELZER, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Thanks to your submissions, we’ve been lead to find out when Dunklin Bridge Road will be fixed and not just patched over.

This road is in Greenville County in the Pelzer area. It connects Mckelvey Road and Cowpens Bridge Road—running parallel to Reedy River for almost nine miles.

Drivers describe the road as excessively bumpy. William Cooley has lived with these conditions for over 30 years.

“It’s horrible. It will, literally—some of the spots on this road will yank the steering wheel out your hand,” Cooley said.

Cooley says the area started growing rapidly as of late.

“Four years ago, my only neighbor was this house across the road from me until you got down to about a mile down the road,” said Cooley.

Cooley says City Scape Winery has been bringing more traffic to the area. The state’s Department of Transportation says 800 vehicles see this road per day, on average. Even the winery’s owner, Joshua Jones, has noticed the road’s deterioration.

“It’s quite bouncy. We have quite a few potholes up and down this road and a lot of uneven pavement,” Joshua said.

It’s a family business. Joshua’s father, Carl, now lives off Dunklin Bridge Road to help out. Carl says his wife can’t even enjoy cycling.

“The road is so rough. She likes to ride her bicycle. And it’s not a comfortable ride to go up and down this road when it’s so bumpy,” said Carl.

The potholes get hefty at the intersections of Arnold Road and Deverton Road.

“I don’t down that way because of it, no more than I have to,” said Cooley, “It will keep your car messed up.”

If someone has messed up their car, they haven’t told the SCDOT, because there are no recent vehicle damage reports. Crews filled in five potholes over the last year.

“They haven’t really done much to this road in the last seven years that I can tell of, other than fixing some emergency potholes,” said Joshua.

He’s right. The portion of Dunklin Bridge between Hillside Church Road and The Laurens County line received what’s called a micro surface preservation treatment seven years ago. That’s basically when crews seal imperfections in the asphalt to keep roads in good condition for the long-run, but drivers want to see the rest of it improved.

“The best way to improve this road would be to do a resurface of the entire road,” Carl said.

The DOT says they have no other work scheduled for this road, but they’ll look into it for the 2025 Pavement Improvement Program.

“We pay thousands and thousands of dollars every, single month in state taxes,” said Joshua, “And we would just love to see some of that money go to improving the road and giving people a better experience when they drive out here.”

Drivers also complained about how long it took to reconstruct the bridge on Dunklin Bridge Road. The SCDOT says the bridge closed for repairs on Mar. 3 and reopened July 8.

Report a roadway here.

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