Downtown Columbia residents eventually will see less congestion from trains that have tangled traffic for decades.

Key road intersections with train crossings suffer high traffic congestion. The Assembly Street area has multiple lines that converge, causing traffic to be backed up on a daily basis.

Assembly Street is one of the state’s highest-trafficked railroad-vehicle intersections, according to the South Carolina Department of Transportation. Traffic congestion can sometimes cause more than an hour delay.

“The trains have been an issue for Columbia residents for over 100 years,” said Mayor Daniel Rickenmann. 

Students on University of South Carolina’s campus also experience the inconveniences of the trains. It has gotten worse as more people move downtown and as USC attracts more students.

Senior Blake McConnell lives at Sawyer on Lincoln. The relatively new student housing apartment complex is at Catawba and Lincoln streets, near Assembly. A railroad track runs directly beside the complex.

“I hear the trains every night and every morning, 3 a.m. and 8 a.m.,” McConnell said. “There have been countless nights where I couldn’t even sleep.”

Another student, Paige Anelli, said the trains have made her late to class on several occasions even when she allotted plenty of time to get to class.

The City of Columbia and SCDOT are collaborating now on the Assembly Street Railroad Separation Project. The project calls for realigning the trains that cross Assembly Street. 

“We’re probably about five years out to the rail realignment,” Rickenmann said.

The project would elevate some of the tracks, separating train and vehicular traffic permanently and allowing both to move freely through Columbia.

Assembly Street would be lowered, elevating the tracks at Catawba and Whaley streets. An existing crossing near Huger Street in the Olympia area would be removed. A new road with a bridge over the current rail line would be built and called the Huger Street Connector.

Rickenmann said added safety enhancements will be included as well. A few of those would prevent trains from blowing their horns in certain areas and create a walkway for pedestrians to be able to walk from USC’s Strom Thurmond Fitness & Wellness Center at Blossom Street all the way to Williams-Brice Stadium.

The budget for the project is around $300 million, with $204 million coming from the federal government.

More information and specifics about the project can be found at Assembly Street Railroad Project.