The Catch-Up: Lexington County Gas Line Break Causes Major Traffic Delays

Posted 7/14/22

The state departments of Education and Natural Resources are headed to new headquarters in Lexington County, though there are questions about the circumstances surrounding the moves.

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The Catch-Up: Lexington County Gas Line Break Causes Major Traffic Delays

Posted

A July 7 gas line break near the interchange of Augusta Road (U.S. 1) and Interstate 20 caused traffic to be diverted around both routes, leading to hours of disruptions during primetime for afternoon commuters.

Lexington Police first announced mandatory evacuations and road closures related to the leak at 4:30 p.m.

A spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation told the Chronicle that westbound I-20 first reopened at 7:17 p.m., with eastbound I-20 reopening at 11:14 p.m. Northbound U.S. 1 reopened at 11:14 p.m., while southbound U.S. 1 reopened at 2:12 a.m.

Lexington Police stated in updates to social media during the leak that strong storms in the area the night of July 7 slowed down Dominion Energy workers as they attempted to repair the gas line.

Dominion issued a statement saying that a third-party contractor hit the line caussing the leak.

Construction continues to improve the interchange between U.S. 1 and I-20. DOT deferred comment about the leak — and if it was related to the construction — to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control, which hadn’t replied to the Chronicle as of the paper’s July 12 press deadline.

Headquarters for 2 State Departments Headed to Lexington County

The state departments of Education and Natural Resources are headed to new headquarters in Lexington County, though there are questions about the circumstances surrounding the moves.

“Despite having annual price tags more than 20 percent above the next highest bidders, a politically connected businessman landed $133 million in deals to house two state agencies at South Carolina’s State Farmers Market,” The Post and Courier’s Jessica Holdman reports.

Bill Stern, a Columbia-based developer who is the chair of the state Ports Authority, was awarded contracts to build and lease two new buildings to the departments. The agencies currently are headquartered in downtown Columbia and on the Statehouse grounds.

“The deals were approved by South Carolina lawmakers alongside hundreds of other line items in the 2020-21 state budget, passed during a financial year flush with cash from federal COVID-19 stimulus dollars,” Holdman writes. “Ultimately, it was up to the Cabinet agency that serves as a clearinghouse for all state property under Gov. Henry McMaster’s purview to finalize the selection.”

Stern is a major campaign donor to McMaster, though Holdman reports that he took offense to the suggestion that politics played a role in securing him the deal.

“I can say with confidence, if the Legislature and the agencies didn’t want this, they wouldn’t be going out there,” he is quoted. “You’re not going to twist someone’s arm to do something like this.

SC Gas Prices Down, Lexington County Still Among the Lowest

Gas prices in Lexington County are still among the best in the state.

Just four counties, including Lexington neighbor Saluda, have a better average price for a gallon of regular unleaded.

As of July 12, the price in Lexington County was $4.001, according to AAA South Carolina. The price in Saluda County was $3.985, while Union County in the Upstate had the state’s lowest price at $3.941.

These prices include two cents of additional state gas taxes that went into effect July 1. Ending six years of two-cent increases, the latest uptick raised the total per gallon to 28 cents. There had been talk among state politicians of delaying the final gas tax increase as prices in the U.S. have recently reached record highs.

Gas prices are on the decline in South Carolina and the nation at large.

The state average was $4.164 as of July 12 (down from $4.609 a month earlier). The national average was $4.655 (down from $5.010). The state average a year ago was $2.954, while the national average was $3.147.

The highest recorded average nationwide was $5.016 on June 14. The highest S.C. average was $4.609 on June 12.

GasBuddy, which ranks gas prices at the county level according to user data, listed these as the lowest prices in Lexington County as of July 12:

Mobil (581 Corley Mill Rd. in Lexington) — $3.35

Murphy Express (2925 Sunset Blvd. in West Columbia) — $3.73

Circle K (5372 Sunset Blvd. in Lexington) — $3.73

Circle K (2600 Sunset Blvd. in West Columbia) — $3.73

Murphy USA (5579 Sunset Blvd. in Lexington) — $3.74

Murphy Express (4448 Sunset Blvd. in Lexington) — $3.74

Murphy Express (500 W Main St. in Lexington) — $3.74

Shell & Circle K (746 W Main St. in Lexington) — $3.75

Speedway (815 N Lake Dr. in Lexington) — $3.75

Mobil (2990 Sunset Blvd. in West Columbia) — $3.77

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