Those traveling on Interstate-20 in Lexington County will need to plan for extra commute time for the foreseeable future.

The SC Department of Transportation began its interstate widening project last weekend.

This phase of the project is to remove and reconstruct the existing eastbound concrete travel lanes and replace the eastbound bridge over Meat Plant Road.

To do this, traffic has been shifted onto the newly constructed inside lanes on the eastbound side of I-20 in Lexington from SC-6 to US-378.

This shift splits eastbound motorists into 2 separate lanes of traffic bordered by concrete barriers. The right lane will travel adjacent to the eastbound lanes and will be able to access all existing exits. The left lane will travel adjacent to the westbound lanes and will bypass the exits to SC-6 and US-1, but will have access to the US-378 exit.

This means motorists planning to exit at SC-6 or US-1 should choose the right lane when the shift begins prior to the SC-6 interchange. The traffic split will occur at approximately mile point 53.5 and end at mile point 60.

This shift will not yet affect westbound traffic.

This traffic pattern will be in place for approximately 9 months. Once the eastbound lanes are complete, a similar traffic shift will occur in the reverse direction to remove and reconstruct the westbound lanes.

The road work is part of a 4-phase project to widen an 11-mile stretch from mile marker 60 near US-378 to mile marker 49 at Longs Pond Road.

The project will add a 3rd inside lane in both directions aimed at reducing traffic congestion. It is expected to be completed in the summer of 2021.

A visualization of the new traffic pattern is available at https://youtu.be/MB832TIS3uk .