After three years of planning and construction, the Palmetto Parkway (I-520) in North Augusta, SC is open. The morning of December 17 marked the first day public traffic was allowed to travel the road. The afternoon before the road opened to the public, SCDOT held a ribbon cutting ceremony. Florence & Hutcheson played a key role in the planning and design of the project as a sub consultant to Triplett-King & Associates.

“Plans for the Palmetto Parkway have been in development since the 1960s. It was an honor for Florence & Hutcheson to have the opportunity to improve the critical infrastructure that surrounds this area,” said Florence & Hutcheson’s Executive Vice President of SC Operations, David Beaty, PE. “Palmetto Parkway is sure to be an economic catalyst for both South Carolina and Georgia.”

The Palmetto Parkway Phase II Design-Build project is the final leg of I-520 that loops Augusta, GA and North Augusta, SC. Phase II extends Phase I on new location for approximately 5.5 miles. The four-lane divided interstate connects to I-20 with a fully directional interchange. Florence & Hutcheson designed four of the twelve bridges, 5.5 miles of interstate highway, and 18 miles of side roads and ramps.

In addition, Florence & Hutcheson designed a ten foot wide 4.5 mile multi-use path, which is the first multi-use path to be built along an interstate in South Carolina. The asphalt path runs adjacent to the interstate along the edge of the right-of-way and features rest areas before and after steep inclines. The path will connect to the existing North Augusta Greeneway, and will enable bicyclists, walkers and runners to enjoy the location of the area.

The Palmetto Parkway presented many unique challenges that allowed Florence & Hutcheson engineers to utilize their expertise on an accelerated schedule. Partial submittals were a necessity as each day new challenges presented themselves with this Design-Build project. The Florence & Hutcheson team was assigned to develop plans for the four bridges at the I-20 Interchange including a curved steel girder bridge with an integral post-tensioned concrete bent cap. The Florence & Hutcheson Roadway Design group encountered five miles of varied terrain with an elevation difference of nearly 300 ft along the project with deep cuts and high fills.

The Florence & Hutcheson redesign also reduced overall wetland impacts from 5.6 acres to 2.3 acres.

“Value engineering in collaboration with the contractor was an important aspect of completing the reconfiguration of the project’s interchanges and refining the main line profile to economize earth work,” said Greg Schuch, PE, Florence & Hutcheson Project Manager, referring to working as a part of the Design-Build team.

As a subconsultant to Triplett-King & Associates, Florence & Hutcheson conducted surveys, environmental permit modification, preliminary plan development, preliminary bridge plans, roadway construction plans, signal design, signing and pavement marking plans, maintenance of traffic plans, erosion control plans and bridge construction plans.

Florence & Hutcheson’s involvement with the Palmetto Parkway was led by Schuch, along with Senior Roadway Engineer, David Montgomery, P.E., Hydraulic Engineer, Ed Owens, P.E., and other Florence & Hutcheson engineers and environmental managers.

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