Flash flood was game-changer on the Toccoa Highway

A contractor from Anderson has started to excavate the embankment where part of the roadside collapsed requiring a detour of traffic away from a section of 123/the Toccoa Highway—between Westminster and Georgia. A South Carolina DOT official admitted today the torrential rains of April 19 have made worse the situation, and there are unanswered questions about the restoration project moving forward. Alan Adams, resident DOT construction engineer, says S&S Construction, will excavate while awaiting the arrival of a box culvert that will allow water to flow under U-S 123 from one side to the other. Adams says the latest washout (on April 19) is a game-changer. Still to be determined: how the sediment cleanup will be addressed; whether the contractor will require additional money above its $1.3 million bid; and whether the DOT will have to grant an extension to the previously agreed June 16th deadline to restore the roadside.