WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Highway 17 gets a facelift
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GARDENS CORNER, SC (WTOC) - More than 3 dozen people have died on Highway 17 from Gardens Corner to Jacksonboro since 1997. But now crews are working to improve driving conditions and save lives.
Highway 17 has a deadly track record, that many like Laura Anderson, who works at Carolina Cherry Company near Garden's Corner fear.
"I very rarely go to Charleston just because of the road," said Anderson.
But these days, this busy road is almost unrecognizable. Crews have been widening a nine mile stretch of the highway from Gardens Corner to Lightsey Plantation in Colleton County.
They've already built the new roadway and are in the process of repairing the old road to make it a four lane highway separated with a grass median. they're also beginning work at the Gardens Corner Intersection.
While the construction has been going on for two years, many in this area - like Tristan Lehnert, the owner of Carolina Cherry Company aren't complaining, just thankful they're making the road safer.
"I think it will be an asset for the safety of the road and the customers," said Lehnert.
But just getting to this point was a battle. Nearly 5 years ago, David Gasque began leading the charge to make the road safer after his son Cooper, who was a cadet at the Citadel died on this highway.
"When my son got killed, I realized this is my fight," said Gasque. "This is part of us being here and with people's children I know, and when I started researching and saw all of the deaths on the road for senseless reasons, it needed to be taken care of."
Now seeing all of this progress, makes it worthwhile.
"It makes us feel good that we are going forward and hopefully someone else won't have to go through what other families have," said Gasque.
But as they work to complete this stretch of the roadway, Gasque is fighting to find the money to widen the roadway all the way to Jacksonboro in Colleton County.
"I'll do whatever because it's going to be our children on this road," said Gasque.
In the mean time the construction along this nine mile stretch under construction is expected to be complete in September 2010.
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