Your New Hilltop View

Despite its name, Mount Pleasant is a town with no mountains, no cliffs and barely even a hill or two.

So when the big overpass on Johnnie Dodds Boulevard opens in early 2012, it’s going to give motorists a unique view of the town. Patch hiked up the hill recently to offer readers a sneak peak.

Meanwhile, Highway 17 construction work will take a break for the remainder of this week as traffic builds for the busy holiday weekend, according to the county project manager.

“Starting (Tuesday) we will be preventing any lane closures on Hwy. 17 and no closures on the Frontage roads,” said Steve Thigpen, chief program engineer. “That will allow people to get to and from the retail stores along Johnnie Dodds Boulevard. We’ll come back after the first of the year when things start to quiet down again.”

Progress on the highway widening, overpass and drainage work is advancing nicely, Thigpen said. Workers should begin pouring concrete on the overpass in late January or early February.

“We should be opening the (overpass) in early April or mid-April,” Thigpen said. Current progress indicates it could open sooner, but April is the scheduled opening.

That will represent a milestone for the project, because part of the goal was to prevent motorists from having to stop at Bowman Road, an area that caused traffic back-ups during rush hour.

“That will put traffic back on Hwy. 17, and prevent people from having to stop,” Thigpen said.