Spartanburg County has closed Freys Drive near Reidville for construction of a new bridge over Jimmie’s Creek. The $3 million replacement project, funded through the county’s Penny Program, is expected to be completed by spring 2027. Traffic is being detoured via Nazareth Road during construction.
Frequent travelers of Freys Drive near Reidville in Spartanburg County will have to go a different way until next spring.
In October, construction crews began the earthwork portion of a new $3 million project to replace the 44-year-old bridge across Jimmie’s Creek on the Reidville road.
Once finished, the new 100-foot-span bridge is not only expected to make for safer travel for all vehicles, but to serve as a proactive infrastructure model for more future growth.
“This will be a concrete box-beam bridge – which will replace the existing wood pile bridge and eliminate the existing curve – and I’m expecting completion to be mid-March to early April, 2027,” said Spartanburg County transportation engineer John Wade. “And since there is a steep hill in that area, the new work will also make the grade of the bridge a little less steep.”
Wade pointed out that while Freys Drive bridge is not technically the worst in the county, it was chosen as the first bridge project because of its strategic location to business and housing.
“We see this as an industrial corridor for the future and want to address concerns before more development in that area starts,” he said. “The bridge is not in particularly bad shape now, but it’s going to be a lot easier to rebuild now than later.”
When asked what would happen if nothing were done to fix the bridge now, Wade said it would likely fall under a weight-limit restriction, “which means large trucks wouldn’t be able to travel over it, especially as it would continue to deteriorate year over year.”
All traffic is expected to be detoured via Nazareth Road until next spring, and the bridge is the first of its kind to replace wood with concrete.
“We have 26 wood pile bridges in the county,” Wade said. “Nine are being rebuilt with penny tax money.”
The tax money is part of the county’s ongoing Penny Program begun in 2024.
Of the program’s 577 total projects, which are all divided into six different tiers, progress since 2024 is ahead of expectations to fund road, bridge, and other county infrastructure improvements through the end of the decade.
“To date, there have been 149 penny projects completed totaling 48.1 miles,” Wade said. “That includes intersection improvements at Zion’s Hill and Sloan’s Grove, Reidville Road, St. John’s and West Main, and Londonderry subdivision.”
Londonderry subdivision in Moore was the latest paving project completed for $4.99 million. But many others are in the pipeline for the upcoming year.
“The resurfacing of Hwy. 29, from the Cherokee County line to John B. White Sr. Boulevard, is one of the largest resurfacing projects scheduled for 2027,” said Scottie Kay Blackwell, Communications Manager for Spartanburg County. “Some work (depth patching, concrete repairs to pedestrian ramps, etc.) should begin in late 2026 or early 2027, with the resurfacing beginning in early spring of 2027.”
And close on the heels of Freys Drive is Alverson Road Bridge – considered the worst in the entire county, despite only being 35 years old.
“The bridge was installed in 1991, and is among our highest-priority bridge needs,” Blackwell said. “Its condition warranted placing it near the front of the capital penny schedule, and county staff is still evaluating the bids. The program is giving us the resources to replace it before its condition deteriorates further.”
But Blackwell also added that the current penny program is temporary. It began on May 1, 2024, and is scheduled to end on April 30, 2030. Revenues are restricted by law to the projects approved by voters.
“The current tax cannot simply be extended administratively or allowed to continue indefinitely,” she said. “Any future capital project sales tax would require a new process, a defined project list, and voter approval through another referendum. Whether a future referendum is proposed would be a decision for County Council and, ultimately, Spartanburg County voters.”
