People lamenting the traffic caused by bridge work along Interstate 77 got some really good — and actually real — news on April Fools’ Day.

The state Department of Transportation said on Saturday, April 1, that the first phase of its bridge rehabilitation project along the highway, which closed northbound I-77 between the Interstate 26 interchange and Bluff Road starting March 24, had finished a day early. Work was initially set to last through April 2, with lanes reopening overnight.

All lanes of I-77 near Columbia are now open.

The second phase of the rehabilitation project, which will require the closure of southbound lanes along the same stretch, is set to start Friday, April 14. An anticipated completion date has not been announced, but when DOT announced the closures in December, the plan was to finish each phase in nine days.

Nine bridges were rehabilitated during the northbound phase, with an additional eight set to get the same treatment during the southbound phase.

“SCDOT is repairing and replacing hundreds of deficient bridges across South Carolina as part of the agency's Strategic 10-Year Plan to improve the state's roads and bridges,” a release notes.

The closure caused increased traffic on major thoroughfares in the Cayce and West Columbia area. 

The Kingsman Restaurant along Knox Abbott Drive jokingly noted the gridlock happening outside its doors.

“Go ahead and stop in instead of being stuck in that traffic on Knox Abbott and grab a cold beer. Or dinner for tonight,” the restaurant posted to Facebook on March 31. “Don’t sit in the traffic and be grumpy!!! Come see us instead.”