LEXINGTON, S.C. — Neighbors along Liberty Hill Road and nearby Crout Place in Lexington County say a nearly 1-mile dirt stretch is still waiting for pavement after decades of promises, and they are absorbing the cost in damaged vehicles.
Lexington County Public Works said Liberty Hill Road ranks No. 10 on the county dirt-road paving priority list, which is re-scored about every five years using homes, traffic, bus routes and upkeep costs.
County officials said current funding supports paving roughly three miles of dirt road each year, and that projects ranked ahead of Liberty Hill are still in the queue unless extra money is found.
Public Works estimates about $7,000 a year to maintain the washboard surface versus about $2 million to pave the nearly 1-mile road between Crout Place and Calks Ferry Road approaches that feed Old Charleston Highway traffic.
Residents describe the route as a busy cut-through where oncoming cars force drivers into an obstacle course, and they say scraping crews only offer a temporary fix that fails after rain or heavy trucks.
Neighbors have shared repair bills and accessibility problems tied to the ruts, and they want officials to treat the road as a safety issue rather than a recurring maintenance inconvenience.
