Seneca gets help with intersection re-make

Last summer a DOT-authorized contractor repaved 123 through Seneca’s East End intersection.  But that doesn’t go far enough to satisfy city officials, concerned about with traffic numbers and safety to the traveling public.  Officials of the government service agency South Carolina “A-COG” are assisting Seneca to compile an application for funds to address the intersection of 123-130/E. N. 1^st Street.  Chip Bentley of the Appalachian Council of Governments says Seneca would like enough money to re-do the entire length of 1^st Street, from Miracle Circle through downtown to the intersection where E.N. 1^st becomes SC 130.  But that would cost something like $20 million.  Bentley says “COG” has only about one-fourth of that amount and it must be shared with other governments in “COG’s” Upstate service area.  “Ultimately, they (Seneca) would like to do the entire route and upgrade it in many ways.  Unfortunately, the funding we have available to us, or the funding the state has available for those types of projects is pretty limited and covers a wide area,” Bentley said.  He told 96.3/WGOG NEWS breaking up the 1^st Street project into phases would give Seneca a greater chance of landing the money.