New traffic pattern to begin Saturday in Lexington

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A new traffic pattern funded by the Town of Lexington’s 2% hospitality tax will begin Saturday morning in downtown Lexington.

The $2.5 million S.C. 6 One-Way Pair Project will split northbound and southbound traffic at North Lake Drive and Church Street until Maiden Lane in an effort to make the intersection of Main Street at North Lake Drive more efficient. The split will allow the signals at Lake Drive and Church Street to service twice as many vehicles, with more green signal time allotted to east and west Main Street at Lake Drive and Church Street, the town said on its website.

Construction began on the project in October 2017.

Traffic studies ordered by the town found 17,000 cars travel Main Street every day, with 12,500 traveling Lake Drive and 3,500 traveling Church Street.

Lexington Mayor Steve MacDougall talked about the new traffic pattern, as well as other planned traffic improvements, at the Mayors Metro Forecast, part of the Columbia Regional Business Report Power Breakfast Series, in March.

MacDougall said the town began addressing its traffic problems more than two years ago with the implementation of an adaptive computerized signalization system.

“We have linked traffic lights at 19 intersections and have another 16 planned before the project is completed,” MacDougall said. “We instituted the hospitality tax, and that money has been dedicated fixing our roads.”

MacDougall said the town is partnering with Lexington Medical Center to add 12 intersections in proximity to that campus to the system.