‘Whiskey Road is insane’: Could this project ease traffic?

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Neighbors learned how a multi-million dollar project aims to improve traffic congestion on Whiskey Road on Tuesday.

During the information session, people learned about the Powderhouse connector and what the project entails.

It will include a new connector road and bridge between East Pine Log Road and South Centennial Avenue.

All of this will give drivers an alternate route to travel on.

The reason: Whiskey Road stays congested at all times, and this will offer some relief.

“Oh, Whiskey Road is insane. There are days when I go out on Whiskey Road and I say to myself, ‘Why am I here? This is nuts,’” said James Knight, who drives the road frequently.

He’s not wrong. It’s been this way for a long time.

“I think it’s important to note that they do need to do something about Whiskey Road because it’s extremely congested, almost any day of the week now, and overleaf on weekends, and there are few alternatives,” said Bob Hinds, who drives in the area.

The plans have been under discussion for at least eight years.

Then in 2022, Aiken got millions of dollars in federal funds to get the project rolling.

People who live in Aiken can come and learn about the project, scope and timeline as Aiken continues to expand.

They’ll start with a shorter span — a connection between Whiskey Road and the new South Centennial Avenue Connector.

Later, they’ll add a longer loop, connecting Whiskey Road to Powderhouse Road.

Leaders believe this will reduce traffic by 20%.

“The issue with Whiskey Road is, as property was developed over the years, there were no controls on means of egress or means of access onto Whiskey Road. So, therefore, pretty much almost every parcel has its own curb cut. And that leads to a lot of congestion, a lot of mismanaged traffic,” said Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh.

Right now, there aren’t a lot of options when you’re trying to get from one side of Aiken to the other.

“What it will do is where East Gate Drive terminates into Whiskey Road, you would create a by around the heaviest part of the Whiskey Road traffic between East Gate and East Pine Log,” said Bedenbaugh.

It will happen in two phases, including 5-foot sidewalks, a bridge and more.

While many are for it, others say it’s only moving the problem to another road.

“That is gonna get crazy traffic here. It’s going to build up on South Centennial Avenue. Okay, trying to cut through the little subdivisions that already exist here. We don’t need that we don’t get traffic constantly coming through a subdivision as it is,” said Bob Vanpelt, who lives near the connector.

And he’s not alone. A lot of people came to express questions and concerns.

Leaders say in October, they will have a public meeting where the comments will be read out loud, and those comments could impact the road design for the second phase.

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