Frustrations mount over construction delays along Redbank Road

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCBD)- Delays in a years-long construction project along Redbank Road have some people in the Goose Creek area wanting answers.

The multi-million dollar project, which includes replacing aging sewer lines and putting a median along the stretch, has been moving along slowly.

But, for one business owner, the road work feels like it has taken forever to complete and he has grown frustrated by the lack of communication from the county.

“We’ve started and ended the pandemic in the same time that we haven’t finished this roadwork completion,” said Andrew Braun, the co-owner of Zenergy Gamers in Creek Bank Plaza. “I think the biggest issue isn’t so much that the roadwork isn’t done. It’s that there’s no communication from our municipality about a real timeframe.”

“If things have come up, let us know. There are real businesses and real families that are being affected by this,” he added.

The feeling is shared by others in the area, including Melisa Prevatte, who started an online petition asking the county and the South Carolina Department of Transporation (SCDOT) to reassess plans for a median stretching from Snake Road to Henry Brown Boulevard.

“This media, once put in place, will undeniably deal another severe blow to businesses that are just beginning to get back on their feet,” wrote Prevatte, who owns Bald Monkey Beanery. “We need transparency, and we need it now. They must halt the median project and must reassess their priorities to account for the needs and survival of local businesses, commuters and especially the lives of students crossing Red Bank Road.”

The petition has garnered over 200 signatures since mid-August.

Despite lapses in communication now, Braun said that wasn’t always the case.

“They’ve been really open with the first phases of the project, what they were doing, why they were doing it and it made sense for the long-term success of this area,” he said. “They had to get the sewage under control. It’s always been a problem in Goose Creek and they’ve done that.”

“But, since they have put in the pipes, work has stopped,” Braun added. “We’ve seen nobody out there for months now, cleaning up the area and getting it ready to lay down asphalt. There’s been no communication.”

News 2 reached out to Berkeley County for an updated timeframe for the project’s completion but has not heard back.