Sheep Farm’s build cost nears $11 million

Since late February, motorists have been taking the new Sheep Farm Road near Seneca—a country road expanded to four lanes between highway 28 and area shopping centers. But the general contractor and the state have not entirely signed off on all that remains to be done. A Department of Transportation official says there’s list of punch items, as well as the final costs of construction. By March, the construction cost approached $11 million, according to Emily Toler, DOT assistant program manager. The state had designated $11.5 million to be paid the U-S Group of Columbia, the general contractor. But other public funds went into Oconee’s first major highway construction in about 25 years. The DOT expended $979 thousand for engineering and $2.2 million for rights-of-way. By yesterday, rights-of-way were 78% finished. Ten tracts are pending settlement, eight of which are condemnation cases.