BLYTHEWOOD – The realignment of a section of Highway 21 and a section of Farrow Road where it connects with Hwy 21 is nearing completion and set to open for traffic within a week, according to signs posted at both locations announcing traffic pattern changes.
The new connection of Farrow Road to Hwy 21 will open on Friday, Oct. 30, and both ends of the newly aligned section of Hwy 21 will open on Monday, Nov. 2, according to the signs.
The realignment was unveiled in 2023 as a joint project between SCDOT and Scout Motors.
In Sept. 2023, construction began to realign a section of Hwy 21 to accommodate a new connector road from Hwy 21 to the Scout plant.
The realignment also included the construction of a new Norfolk Southern railroad spur that now crosses Hwy 21, just below where the road intersects with Boomer Road. The rail then runs west and travels via an overpass across I-77 and on to the Scout plant.
The new alignment of Hwy 21 begins near Boomer Road, bends around the west side of the Dominion electrical substation, then travels southward through a wooded area to reconnect just below the substation.
The intersection of Farrow Road and Hwy 21 has been relocated southward to just below the substation.
Travelers from Exit 24 on I-77 driving north to Blythewood on Hwy 21 will veer to the left just before the substation. The new route will go around the substation, over a bridge crossing the Norfolk Southern rail spur, and connect back to Hwy 21 near Boomer Road.
While a section of the current Hwy 21 route will be removed when the realignment is complete, some of the roadbed will be left. A cul-de-sac will provide access from Farrow Road to the substation and to several businesses on Hwy 21, including a hair salon and other shops that will remain where they are, according to SCDOT.
The project is on schedule, having been slated for completion by the end of 2026.