Tomorrow: Highway completion "thank you" in Orangeburg County
U.S. 321 from North to Neeses in Orangeburg County will soon become a four-lane highway, with a second traffic signal to be activated at the intersection with S.C. 4 in Neeses, replacing the existing high-profile stop sign currently there. There have been a number of fatalities at that intersection, where people gambled on crossing 321 and lost.For what has been the historic “back door” the rural inland Lowcountry region of Bamberg, Hampton, Jasper, and Orangeburg Counties, and an alternate route for trucks and other travelers to hop around the I-26/I-95 Florida traffic on their way to and from Georgia, this will certainly improve travel.
To mark this, I’ve been busy organizing a “thank you” event, to be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Town Hall and Community Center at Livingston, South Carolina, right there on U.S. 321. There will be whole raft of people in attendance from the SCDOT, the news media, my company, subcontractors, staff from Congressman Joe Wilson's office, as well as several politicos. Headlining the event will be Richard Eckstrom, our state’s Comptroller General.
I even got a great deal on catering from the folks at Sticky Fingers in Columbia, and while I'm pretty cool with a wide range of BBQ places, everyone loves Sticky Fingers!
This the third project we’ve completed in the last two months, with a four-lane opening in Manning and a new I-77 interchange in Fairfield County back in December. In the spring, look for us to open up four lanes on U.S. 378 from Turbeville to half-way to Lake City, helping improve traffic flow on what is a major alternate Myrtle Beach route for the Midlands. 
we do projects which have bridges, which we subcontract out, but we do the roadway. that project is almost all bridge, so it wouldn't be something we would do, and thus we wouldn't be bidding it.
if that project was something we might bid (should it ever be resurrected), even joking would represent at least the appearance of a conflict of interest.
since there is not, i can talk about it, but given my company's relationship as an SCDOT contractor, i do try to be mindful to do nothing which could be construed as the discussion of any SCDOT matters.
besides, if i skip an issue, so what? other people will discuss it plenty around here in my stead.