Driving the winding, wooded portion of Columbia’s Sunset Drive between Elmhurst Road and River Drive can make you feel like you’re suddenly driving through a scenic byway in the foothills. That peaceful drive can quickly turn into a busy byway and convenient connector for traffic traveling to and from Broad River Road, Main Street and I-277. The road is also useful for pedestrians, but narrow shoulders on both sides makes walking roadside somewhat treacherous.

Your Transportation Penny is providing a solution to this issue. Starting in March, construction of a new sidewalk will begin.

The focus of the Sunset Drive Sidewalk Project is the creation of 5-foot-wide sidewalk that will stretch for .75 miles from Makeway Drive to Elmhurst Road. Also considered a neighborhood improvement project, driveways along the walk will be enhanced, new drainage structures will be installed along the corridor and water lines will be properly relocated. There will also be a retaining wall constructed at the culvert. The budget allotted for this Penny Project is $5.2 million.

“This is the first time a pedestrian improvement has been designed for this area. The project design will provide pedestrians safe access to area neighborhoods, schools, and local commerce from Broad River Road to Main Street,” said Transportation Penny Program Director Mike Maloney.

The project is scheduled for completion in May 2025.