Greenwood Takes Major Strides with Significant Infrastructure Upgrades
Folks in Greenwood are in for a bit of a sight, a sound, and perhaps a detour as construction gets underway with some major street work. If you’ve driven through South Main Street recently, you’ve probably noticed the ongoing construction that has taken over the area. Crews are hard at work upgrading our city’s aging water mains, and it’s actually a rather fascinating piece of development happening right here at home.
Let’s unfold this a bit for clarity. So, the public works team in Greenwood has hit the ground running with not one but several projects aimed at improving our water infrastructure. The number one reason? Our city’s infrastructure was starting to show its age, with some elements dating back to the 1930s and 40s! Yikes, right? So, it’s high time they got an upgrade.
Unpacking the Main Street Project
The first project taking front and center involves a significant facelift of the water mains beneath South Main Street. Stretching across close to 12,000 feet of piping, this undertaking has a price tag of about **$6.56 million**. One interesting tidbit—the work is being done on the bones of an old Southern Railway railroad bed. Could you imagine the history there? The good news for us locals is this project combines effectively with modern needs and, of course, is paid for by a grant from the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority.
According to one of the utilities engineers overseeing the process, the aim is to ensure that the new lines will maintain existing capacity and serve our community well into the future. Best guess: Around March next year, you will be able to walk down Main Street without having to zigzag around construction cones!
Other Projects on the Move
But wait, there’s more! As we take a little up-the-road tour, right around Edgefield and Kirksey, another project is bustling with activity. Over **6,660 feet of pipeline** is being replaced under a **$3.65 million project** running parallel to Edgefield Street. Cross your fingers along with the crews; they are hoping to wrap this up by February 2026. Quite a lengthy timeframe, but that’s what it takes to ensure everything’s in tip-top shape!
The encore will be set next week with a project kicking off on Cambridge/Uptown that wrangles with replacing **1,260 linear feet of pipe**. This smaller scale project comes in just shy of **$1.63 million** and aims for completion by October 2025. Our city planners sure have their hands full!
Key Takeaway for Residents
Now, I know what you might be thinking: “Great improvements, but how will it impact my day-to-day life?” Excellent point, indeed! With such large-scale projects, there’ll be traffic reroutes and some unavoidable construction noise. But the silver lining here is a more reliable water system that benefits everyone. Local public works officials ask for our patience and promise that the end result will be entirely worth any temporary bother.
It might be a bumpy start, but lasting improvements to our water infrastructure mean significant advantages for years to come. So, hang in there, folks! This is Greenwood’s strides toward a better tomorrow.
