‘It’s taken 8 years to get to this point.’ New Calks Ferry interchange may be in Lexington County’s future

Initial steps have been taken to ease some road congestion in the area many Michelin and Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative employees get off Interstate 20 to head to work.

Lexington County Council voted unanimously to start narrowing down a way to ease traffic in that area using the section of Calks Ferry Road that goes over Interstate 20 in Lexington County.

“It’s taken eight years to get to this point,” Lexington County Councilman Darrell Hudson of District 3 said during the March 11 county council meeting. “We have received a million dollars through our state house from efforts from [Rep. Paula Rawl Calhoon, R-Lexington], myself and the executives of Michelin.”

Hudson told the Chronicle that Michelin and Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative are two major companies that could benefit from a traffic solution around Exit 51.

"Exit 51 is so slam-packed all day, every day," he said. "This is an earmark from the governor to our county to study and to engineer what may be and what exit 51 may look like."

Public Works Director Brent Hyatt told the public during that meeting that the legislative earmark—which is essentially an amount designated to a specific project at the request of a legislator—of $1 million is for conceptual roadway plans and an interchange justification report for the section of Calks Ferry over Interstate 20.

“This report is what’s required for the Federal Highway Administration to review and accept any proposed modifications to the interstate right-of-way,” he said, adding that this is the initial step in making this interchange happen.

Before council voted unanimously on this step, Hudson told the public that this project would not involve county residents’ tax dollars.