Another drive-through coffee shop will be open soon in Lexington.

As previously reported, the N.C.-based chain Clutch Coffee is opening near downtown at 308 Columbia Ave (on a lot that formerly housed the Lexington office of Midlands Insurance Center), following South Carolina locations opened in Taylors, Rock Hill and on Devine Street in Columbia. The location recently announced that it will open for business Oct. 21.

The company’s website lists nine locations in total, with the others all being in North Carolina.

Work on the Lexington location began in the spring, with Clutch initially hoping to open by midsummer.

Clutch joins a growing array of coffee options in Lexington, as fellow drive-through chain Biggby Coffee opened on the other side of downtown, across Interstate 20 heading into Red Bank on South Lake Drive, earlier this year. The Chronicle also recently broke the news that the couple behind the Studio B salon in the Old Mill plan to turn that space into The Tent Coffee Shop in December.

Locations of Dunkin’ and Starbucks that feature drive-throughs sit less than two miles from Clutch’s spot on Columbia Avenue.

“We just liked the area in terms of Lexington and Columbia in general,” Clutch co-founder Darren Spicer told the Chronicle in April. “It’s a growing area now and is underserved from a drive-through coffee perspective. Not really any other brand focused on the drive-through aspect and our experience in how we deliver is different from other brands. So we felt it was a cool opportunity in the area.”

Lexington names new utilities director

Lexington has hired a new utilities director.

The town announced the hiring of David Wiman to the position earlier this week, touting his 30 years of experience and “dedication to enhancing our community” on Facebook.

“David has a vision to build a strong and stable team, increase retention and ensure that our customers always feel that they are taken care of,” it posted. We would like to express our gratitude to Billy Gunter, Utilities Superintendent, as well as the entire Utilities Department for their dedicated efforts throughout the course of this search. We are proud of our outstanding Utilities team!”

The town noted that Wiman has a degree in environmental science and has worked jobs ranging from operator to executive director, with licenses in all five professional licenses in water and wastewater. His accolades include having been named Operator of the year and Collection System Operator of the Year by the Water Environment Association of SC

His last post was as superintendent of the City of Columbia’s wastewater treatment plant.

DOT solicits input on proposed roundabout

The state Department of Transportation will solicit public comment this week on proposed intersection improvements in the Edmund area of Lexington County.

The department is looking to make adjustments to the intersection of Bethany Church Road and Boiling Springs Road/Redmond Road between Red Bank and Pelion.

“A roundabout is being proposed at this location,” the project website details. “The roundabout design reduces the total number and overall severity of vehicle-to-vehicle conflict points. Comparing a conventional four-leg intersection to an equivalent roundabout design, the total number of conflict points is reduced from 32 to 8 — a 75% reduction.

“This intersection was selected for improvement through the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP). This program uses a data- driven strategic approach to identify locations throughout the state with high crash rates or patterns and implements safety enhancements through infrastructure-related improvements.”

The proposed timeline for the project calls for right of way acquisition to take place this winter, with construction to start in winter 2024 and last about 18 months.

DOT will host a meeting to solicit public input Thursday, Oct. 12 at Sandhills Elementary School (130 Lewis Rast Rd. in Swansea) from 5 to 7 p.m.

Public comment on the project is open online through Oct. 27, with residents able to access the project page via scdot.org/projects/press-releases.aspx and click the “Provide Feedback” tab to do that.