9/27/07
New Road
Paving of Capital Way begins, issues from County Council meeting addressed
By Eric Goold

CLEVE DOWELL/Manning Times

Clarendon County Administrator Bill Houser, Bill Sharpe, Sharpe Grading, and Bo Osborne, Osborne Paving Co., look over the Capital Way paving project.

One of the items on the agenda at this month’s County Council meeting raised questions among local citizens and also caused some heated moments during the council session, but steps have been taken to address everyone’s concerns.

At issue is Capital Way, an overgrown, pothole-infested dirt road that runs next to Clarendon Eye Care and goes back to Precious Angels Day Care, on the north side of Hwy. 261 just east of Manning High School.

Discussion was held by the council to answer numerous requests by the public to fix the road. Options such as paving it over completely or utilizing re-constituted asphalt to fill in the potholes were discussed, as was the idea of ending the road in a cul-de-sac.

There was confusion even after the council meeting ended about what was actually going to take place at Capital Way. Tuesday afternoon, County Administrator Bill Houser cleared up that confusion.

“The council selected the paving option,” said Houser.

Capital Way will be paved over and will not end in a cul-de-sac. Rather, it will go completely around and connect with Commerce Drive.

“At this time, it is going to go straight through,” said Houser. “If that creates a problem, we will reevaluate.”

The paving option, with a price tag of around $45,000, will be more cost-effective than using re-constituted asphalt in the long run. It also satisfies the concerns of the businesses and citizens who have to use Capital Way every day.

“Paving that road is something we’ve been pushing for, for a long time,” said Helen Jones, owner of Precious Angels Day Care. “Having it go all the way through is a lot better than ending it in a cul-de-sac. With a cul-de-sac we would have been blocked in both ways.”

A Head Start bus, carrying up to 60 children, travels Capital Way everyday, dropping students off and picking them up from the day care facility.

Cathy Wright, of the Head Start in Alcolu, said that the paved road will greatly increase the safety of the children.

“We’re so glad it’s going to be paved, and that it will go all the way through,” said Wright. “Those big potholes were hurting our bus, requiring constant maintenance. There was no room for that big bus to turnaround.”

Jones was told that pavement of Capital Way was to begin on Wednesday.

“The road should be much better now,” she said. “And safer.”