Spartanburg Co. bridge closure affecting nearby businesses

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) closed a bridge on Cannons Campground Road in Spartanburg County this week because an inspection found it was unsafe for travel. Nearby business owners said the closure is hurting them financially.

Ulric Brown owns OB’s Barbershop, which is located near the bridge. He said as soon as it closed Wednesday, his business took a hit.

“You’re looking at a parking lot that’s normally packed with 200 to 300 cars per day,” Brown described. “This road itself has at least thousands of cars a day that travel up and down. Now, it’s down to zero.”

Just next door to the barbershop is Nana’s Soul-Licious, a restaurant Rosalind Wallace opened six months ago.

“We have a lot of decreases in orders,” Wallace said.

On a normal day, Wallace said her restaurant is full. But, on Friday, few customers went in, and to-go orders piled for hours because people could not get to her restaurant.

“I hope I can keep the doors open,” Wallace said. “I usually have four workers today. But, I told the other two to stay home, so my daughter and I are running it for right now. I’m not going to be able to afford to keep the two workers if they don’t open the bridge.”

SCDOT said it does “not have a timeline for this repair since it’s in the design phase.” It is unclear when the bridge will reopen. Brown and Wallace hope they can get answers soon.

“My concerns are that a lot of people put their money into a business to grow the business,” Brown said. “They move to a specific side of town based on the traffic that’s on this side of town. If the traffic is gone, it’s going to affect the bottom line, and it’s going to hurt all around.”

Bridge detours

Cannons Campground Road between Plainview Drive and Gossett Road will be closed to all traffic, while the stretch of road between Gossett Road and Old Converse Road will be open to local traffic only.

Detours have been put in place to direct traffic along Plainview Drive, U.S. 29, and Old Converse Road.

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