New proposal could provide relief to SC businesses hurt by roadwork delays
- Grant For SC
- May 5
- 1 min read
By Mary Green
Published: May 5, 2025 at 8:59 PM EDT
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Bright orange traffic cones are often signs of improvement and growth, and they are all over South Carolina.
But they can also come with headaches for drivers and for businesses located along the roads where construction is underway.
“At times, it gets so confusing trying to get in here, you would think that we’re closed,” said James Etheridge, whose wife owns Southern Crave Gourmet To-Go in northeast Richland County.
Southern Crave has a front-row seat to the ongoing roadwork on Hard Scrabble Road, a project several years behind schedule and currently expected to wrap up next month.
Business owners up and down the road said the construction has hurt their bottom lines.
“Our business has declined — some weeks, 60%,” Etheridge said. “And we still have payroll, we still have insurance, we still have rent, we still have operating expenses that we incur that we will never get back.”
Businesses along the congested stretch have tried to adjust.
The nail salon next door to Southern Crave, Lust Nails and Spa, opened in December and has already shifted its hours to try to attract more traffic.
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