This week, a number of announcements were made across the country concerning highways and other transportation projects.

SC - Many bridges in SC deficient or obsolete
More than 2,000 bridges in South Carolina are either functionally obsolete or structurally deficient, WYFF television in Greenville, SC, reported Nov. 25, and the number is going up. The station said more than one-fourth of the 8,000 highway bridges owned by South Carolina are in bad shape. The "deficient" rating means the bridges are in need of repair or replacement to avoid becoming unsafe. To be declared "functionally obsolete," the bridge must be handling more traffic volume than it was designed to accommodate. The state is working with Clemson University on a system that would more accurately measure how bridges are doing, which would enable the state to target for help those bridges most in need of repair or replacement, WYFF's report said.

TX-Highway 121 expansion to move forward
The state of Texas and the Maharishi Global Development Fund have reached an agreement that will allow the widening of state Highway 121, The Dallas Morning News reported. Under the agreement, the state will pay $14 million for 21.6 acres of land that will allow the widening of 121 from Coppell to McKinney. The fund and the state had been in dispute about the value of the land, the last piece of property needed for the project. The current road is the most congested two-lane highway in Texas, Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, told The News, and is one of the most dangerous roads in the area. Construction of a continuous six-lane highway with three frontage road lanes in each direction could begin by early 2003.

VA - DC area interchange could be delayed
Completion of the "Mixing Bowl" highway interchange near Washington, DC, will be delayed well past 2007, according to a report this week from WTOP radio in the nation's capital. The interchange, near Springfield, VA, connects Interstates 95, 395 and 495, with 430,000 vehicles passing through it daily. It has been the most frequent spot on the Capital Beltway for accidents, according to a recent study. The delay is being caused by poor management, a federal report to be released Monday, Dec. 2, says, which is also driving up the cost of the project to near $1 billion.

VA - State to lift lane closures through holiday
Virginia's Department of Transportation will lift temporary highway lane closures in the state through at least Thanksgiving Day, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Nov. 27. Work will also stop on the state's major road projects, such as the I-95 Springfield interchange and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Northern Virginia, until Monday, the paper reported. However, construction on I-81 in the Bristol area may begin again Friday.