Oconee County 2026 Road Paving Plans and Traffic Signal Request

At the first 2026 meeting of Oconee County’s state “C” Fund Committee, chaired by Sam Dickson and including members Tally Grant and Dick Cottingham, county and South Carolina Department of Transportation officials were directed to submit and prioritize lists of roads for repaving during the upcoming season using discretionary state transportation funds typically allocated for farm-to-market routes.

County Roads and Bridges Director Kyle Reid presented a preliminary list, while DOT Resident Maintenance Engineer Randy Russell identified five specific repaving projects: Earle Street in Walhalla, Doyle Street near Westminster, Durham Road in Fair Play, and Alexander Road and Cheohee Valley Road near Salem. Separate repaving contracts are also planned for streets in Seneca and Walhalla, and another for Westminster.

Additionally, County Councilman Glenn Hart relayed a resident request for traffic signals on SC 28 (Blue Ridge Boulevard) at the Halfway Branch crossover intersection, where accidents have occurred, though he emphasized he was not endorsing it but simply passing it along; the committee agreed to forward the request to the appropriate SCDOT division, which may conduct a traffic count to assess justification.