Butler Road Improvements Project

The project will improve bicycle and pedestrian access by adding a multiuse path that connects to the existing paths at the Mauldin Cultural Center and Mauldin Senior Center. It will also improve/widen the existing sidewalks along the corridor and continue the multiuse path to US 276 for future further expansion.

The corridor study was a local planning study for the City of Mauldin and did not analyze alternatives and impacts to the environment in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Once the project received federal funding, the project was required to comply with NEPA. NEPA requires agencies to thoroughly evaluate a proposed project’s impacts to the human and natural environment, including analyzing alternatives, and provide opportunities for agency and public input. The environmental study analyzes alternatives that may meet the purpose and need of the project and recommends a preferred alternative based on an impact analysis and public input, taking into consideration human and community impacts as well as impacts to the natural environment.

No, all impacts are considered equally, and every effort is made to minimize impacts to the human and natural environment. For this reason, potential impacts to wetlands, streams, farmlands, threatened and endangered species, floodplains, and archaeological or historical sites are evaluated as part of the NEPA process. Impacts to the human environment are evaluated to ensure environmental justice, or fair treatment regardless race, color, national origin, or income.

When minority and low-income populations may be affected, SCDOT must determine whether there is a disproportionately high and adverse impact on the populations. If impacts are anticipated, avoidance is considered first, and then minimization and mitigation of impacts. The Mauldin Mobile Home Park within the project area has been identified as an “environmental justice” community. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) defines environmental justice (EJ) as “identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse effects of [FHWA’s] programs, policies, and activities on minority and low-income populations to achieve an equitable distribution of benefits and burdens. This includes the full and fair participation by all potentially affected communities in the transportation decision making process.”
Executive Order (E.O.) 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, requires federal agencies to the greatest extent possible by law, “to identify and address ‘disproportionately high and adverse’ human health or environmental effects of federal programs, policies, and activities on minority and low-income populations.”
Visit the Project Resources page for more information.

SCDOT will purchase all right-of-way according to the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, amended in 1987. SCDOT policies and procedures are outlined in: https://www.scdot.org/business/pdf/rightofway/HighwaysandYou.pdf

A SCDOT right-of-way representative will contact you following completion of the NEPA process and the development of right-of-way design plans, which is anticipated for late 2022. Property acquisitions will be appropriately appraised and you will be compensated accordingly.

Property owners with anticipated relocation impacts were personally delivered letters with this notification and were delivered postcards advertising the public information meeting. The proposed new right-of-way line is shown in orange on the project display and illustrates potential areas to be acquired for construction; these right-of-way lines have not been finalized and are subject to change.

Construction is anticipated to begin in early 2024 and end in late 2026.

Temporary traffic delays are anticipated to occur during construction but at this time no long-term detours are anticipated. Delays will be minimized through notifications, work schedule, and construction sequencing. More detailed information will be available as the project continues to develop.

If you have questions about the project, you can contact Casey Lucas, SCDOT Project Manager, at 803-737-1087, or by sending an email to the project email address at butlerroad@scdot.org. You can find SCDOT contact information on the Contact/Comments tab on this webpage. If you would like to receive a formal response from SCDOT, we encourage you to submit a formal, written comment via one of the formats provided in the Contact/Comments tab during the public comment period.

The project design has been refined and the proposed alignment at Old Mill Road/Bethel Drive has been revised since the January 2021 PIM based on comments received during the public comment period and further analysis. Design revisions include some medians and drainage, right-of-way limits/relocations, and driveway access points. The purpose of the November 2021 PIM is to present the revised proposed alignment/design and provide an opportunity for the public to review the proposed design and provide comments on the project.

The design presented at the November 2021 PIM is the more detailed, final design for right-of-way acquisition. Only minor changes are anticipated from comments received from this PIM.