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BLYTHEWOOD – On Monday, Feb. 3, at 3 p.m., the South Carolina Department of Transportation and Scout Motors representatives along with local and state officials, held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for the new Scout Motors Drive Interchange in Blythewood. The new interchange will be Exit 26 and will be located between Exit 24 (Highway 21) and Exit 27 (Blythewood Road).

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) proposes to construct a new Interchange on I-77 to serve the future Scout Motors Manufacturing facility and to provide access for future economic development in Blythewood, according to Secretary of the S.C. Department of Transportation Justin Powell, a featured speaker at the groundbreaking on Monday.

The purpose of the interchange is to serve the future Scout Motors Manufacturing facility and provide access for future economic development in Blythewood, Powell said.

 The project includes a connector road from the proposed Exit 26 to US 21. Portions of US 21 are proposed to be realigned to create a grade separated crossing for a new Norfolk Southern Railroad spur line that will serve the Scout facility.

A new railroad bridge over I-77 is proposed to provide rail access to the west side of I-77. In addition, widening of northbound I-77 from south of the proposed interchange to Blythewood Road as well as improvements along Community Road are planned. In addition to the SCDOT transportation improvements, Richland County has planned improvements along Community Road and Blythewood Road.

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MITFORD – Fairfield County Coroner Chris Hill is releasing the name of an individual involved in a motor vehicle collision on Sunday Feb. 2, 2025.

According to Coroner Hill, Deymius Mack, age 17, of Great Falls, was traveling north on US Hwy 21 in the Mitford area when the vehicle he was operating left the roadway, hit numerous trees and traveled down an embankment. Mr. Mack, who was restrained, succumbed to his injuries on the scene of the accident.

An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause of death. Fairfield County Coroner’s Office and South Carolina Highway Patrol continue to investigate.

BLYTHEWOOD – Zachary Johnson, who was sued by a Richland Two administrator in 2021, has issued an open apology to that administrator and to the Richland Two community. A lawsuit was filed against Johnson after he accused the administrator of inappropriately touching his young daughter, who was a student at the school at the time. Johnson sent the apology to The Voice, asking that it be published.

Public Statement of Apology

Dear members of the Richland Two School Board and Richland Two community: My name is Zachary Johnson.

In November 2021, I stood before you with my family and made hasty, disturbing allegations against a Richland Two administrator. I accused an assistant principal at an elementary school in Blythewood of inappropriately touching my then-six-year-old daughter. Subsequent thorough, unbiased investigations by both Richland Two and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department proved these allegations to be false.

Today, I stand before you to issue a long overdue apology to that wrongly accused administrator on behalf of myself and on behalf of my family. The allegations I made against her were categorically false. As a father desperate to protect my young child, I rushed to judgment based on a fantastical story spun by my daughter, which she told just prior to having to serve her first detention at school. I did not act rationally or reasonably when I stood before this room without allowing the investigations to run their course. I gave news interviews and encouraged others to spread my daughter’s untrue story on social media without considering the impact my words would have on the administrator if proven false, as they were.

To the wrongly accused administrator, I am deeply sorry for the false allegations that I never should have made public. I am sorry for the hate and threats you received as a result of my actions. I am sorry for the damage I have done to your career. And I am sorry for the pain and suffering you and your family have endured these last few years.

This particular administrator has served students and their families in public education for more than two decades. Her extensive, proven career record is evidence that she is and always has been a dedicated and highly decorated educator committed to the students she serves. Therefore, my wife and I would like to conclude by extending our gratitude to the administrator for her devoted and continued service to the children enrolled in Richland School District Two and beyond.

Thank you.

BLYTHEWOOD – Matt Benton says he’s always dreamed of being a contestant on a TV game show – preferably The Price is Right or Wheel of Fortune. That dream came true recently when he was selected to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune.

“I feel so incredibly fortunate to have been a contestant on The Wheel of Fortune,” Benton, 40, told The Voice last week.  “They say that over a million people per year apply, and only 600 make it on. It was a once in a lifetime experience!  The taping itself was a blur in every way,” he said.  I personally can’t wait to watch it because it’s honestly difficult to remember what all happened.  The experience was a combination of excitement, nervousness, and joy,” he recalled.

Benton said he and his wife Stephanie not only enjoyed the fun of the game show which was taped Nov. 21, but that they enjoyed their time in Los Angeles as well.

The Bentons and their three kids, ages 15, 11, and 9, have lived in Blythewood since 2017.

“I’m originally from a small town in central Illinois,” he said. “I joined the Navy when I was 22 and served six years active duty as a Nuclear Reactor Operator stationed aboard the USS Nimitz.” 

After the Navy, Benton said he went back to school to complete his degree and spent the next ten years in non-profit leadership until making the jump to a career in real estate in late 2023.

“Aside from my work as a realtor, I also coached varsity boys’ golf at Westwood High School for the past two seasons,” he said. But since his son plays golf for Blythewood High School this year, Benton no longer coaches at Westwood.

“I didn’t want to coach against him,” he said.

In addition to playing golf and following game shows, Benton says he’s also an avid LEGO collector.

“I’m still a big kid at heart,” he joked.

Benton quipped that he’s known in some circles as ‘The LEGO realtor.’

While he’s tight-lipped about how he did on the show, he says he’s anxious to see it when it airs next week. He said he and his wife are having friends over for a watch party.

“It’ll be fun,” he said. “Maybe there’ll be another story after my episode airs,” he said with a laugh.

To watch Benton’s episode on Wheel of Fortune, tune in Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. on the ABC channel 25 (WOLO-TV). 

BLYTHEWOOD – As the buildings in the massive Scout project are going vertical on the west side of I-77, a giant bridge is being constructed over I-77 and Community Road, just north of Exit 24. The bridge, which will rise approximately 40 feet above the roadway, will accommodate a rail spur that will reach from US Hwy 21 near Boomer Road (just south of the Town of Blythewood), over I-77, to the Scout plant.

 In addition, Hwy 21 will be realigned from just south of Boomer Road, to go around the Fairfield Electric Coop substation and connect back to another section of Hwy 21, just west of the Coop substation.

A new road will connect the realigned section of Hwy 21 to the Scout plant via a new I-77 interchange that will be located just north of the rail bridge over I-77.

The concrete and steel I-77 bridge, rail bed, realigned Hwy 21, as well as the new connector road are funded from a $200,000,000 pot of money provided by the SC Department of Commerce, according to Jae Mattox, Assistant Director of Alternative Delivery for SCDOT. Mattox is responsible for pre-construction efforts of SCDOT’s design build projects in the state.

As for the timeline of these projects, Mattox says the bridge for the rail overpass is approximately 50 percent complete.

“Earthwork is ongoing to bring the site up to the final elevation, and vertical construction of the bridge columns will begin in February,” Mattox told The Voice. “Besides building up the rail bed, we’re installing foundations for the bridge. The bridge itself is going to be very high, about 40 feet above the I-77 roadway. It’s much higher than other bridges you’ll see around here,” he said.

Mattox says the I-77 bridge should be substantially complete by December of this year (2025).

Once the bridge work is completed by SCDOT over I-77, Mattox says Norfolk Southern will begin constructing all aspects of the rail – including the track work – from Hwy 21, over the I-77 bridge to a rail yard at the Scout plant. He says the rail should be completed during spring 2026.

The realignment of Hwy 21 and the bridgework to take Hwy 21 over the rail is anticipated to begin in early 2026. The Hwy 21 bridge over the rail will be four lanes wide to allow future widening of the road (see map on page A1).  A new I-77 interchange, the connector road and a slight realignment of Farrow Road should all be completed sometime around November 2026, according to Mattox.  

“The materials to build the rail will have to be brought in by rail. The strands of steel rails are each a quarter of a mile long,” Mattox says. “You can’t bring them in on a truck. They have to be transported by rail. So, the rails are actually built as the materials are delivered by train.”

Work to both realign Hwy 21 and build the rail track will start at Hwy 21 just south of Blythewood and continue in the direction of the Scout property.

“It was first planned to have an at-grade crossing for the train to travel over the realigned Hwy 21, but it soon became apparent to DOT engineers that would be a safety issue,” Mattox says, “with the increasing traffic on Hwy 21. The best course of action, and the one we chose, is to build a bridge for Hwy 21 to go over the railroad.”

The new I-77 interchange will be built just north of where the rail bridge crosses I-77 (between Blythewood Exits 24 and 27.)