Construction causing Spartanburg Co. road closure, nearby business hopes results bring permanent change

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – In just a few days, construction will begin on Gary Armstrong Road to add a right-turn lane at the intersection with US-29.

The officer manager of a nearby business said the project comes after years of too many close calls and wrecks in their parking lot.

“It’s just really scary, I can’t say enough about it,” said Gloria Neely, the office manager at West Spartan Animal Hospital.

At the West Spartan Animal Hospital, year after year, they’ve seen accident after accident.

“I can’t even remember how many times that it’s happened over the years, I’ve worked here for 27 years and this has been going on for years,” said Neely.

The animal hospital is a beloved spot for pet owners in Greer and sits on the corner of Highway 29 and Gary Armstrong Road, which is the newest site for a Spartanburg County road project.

The county said the intersection has been on SCDOT’s radar, and now the county’s transportation committee is finally able to do something about it.

“This particular intersection, we’ve seen at least 20 crashes in the past 5 to 6 years and that doesn’t include all the crashes on Highway 29 near that intersection,” said Scottie Kay Blackwell, the Spartanburg County communications manager.

Starting next week, Gary Armstrong Road will be closed between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. for about two weeks, weather permitting, while a right turn lane is built.

The county said adding the turn lane on Gary Armstrong might not solve the entire problem at this location, but they believe it will help. The animal hospital hopes this is just the start. They said after so many trucks had crashed into their fence over the years, they had to stop replacing it.

“I did ask if we could get a guard rail so maybe that would be kind of a barrier, it’s my understanding it’s not in the plans when they start doing the construction, which really concerns me, but I’m hoping once they make the turn lane maybe people will slow down when they come around the corner here because it is very dangerous,” said Neely.

While the project is underway, drivers will be detoured to and along Gap Creek Road.

Those at the animal hospital who will be watching said they’ll also be hoping the location can be safer for everyone soon.

“It’s very concerning to me because I don’t want to have to tell somebody’s family that they lost a family member or a family member got hurt because of an accident,” said Neely. “I care about these people, I care about this place, I care about their families, I care about the animals.”

Crews will begin working on site Monday, July 8th.

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