Amid fears of commuter congestion, Lexington 1 is planning a new school.
The new Lexington Middle School for 1,000 students will open August 2021 on 61.9 acres at Old Cherokee Road and Cherokee Trail.
Spokeswoman Mary Beth Hill said a traffic engineer will be hired for recommendations on the congested “northern bypass.”
New Providence Elementary also on Old Cherokee Road already slows traffic.
On March 19, Dr. Kyle Guyton recused himself from deliberations and voting as he owns property in the attendance area.
Board member Jada Garris said she voted no due to wetlands on the property, lack of adequate road frontage, traffic issues, not being able to read the option agreements before voting to approve them and lack of collaboration with other elected bodies that could give valuable insight.
The 4 parcels are partly covered by a pond. We have asked Lexington 1 for the names of the owners and the proposed sale prices but Hill did not answer the question.
She said only that an appraisal will be made.
The parcels are TMS 004300-04-016 of 23.57 acres, 004300-04-075 of 10 acres, 004300-04-048 of 27.9 acres and 004300-04-55 of 0.47 acres.
The Chronicle asked Department of Transportation officials for a traffic count and road widening plans.
Hill said the current middle school can not meet requirements since Dreher Street will be closed and access will be from a redirected Harmon Street and US 378 and SC 6.
The school will be used for other programs, Hill said.
The district said SCDOT will be asked to approve road frontage, property size and capacity for vehicles at peak drop-off and pick-up.
Critics of the site include Lexington County Councilman Darrell Hudson.
Hudson has been critical of DOT for failure to repair or widen congested roads in his district despite millions gas tax increase dollars.
Hudson said he has met with Superintendent Greg Little and other administrators to express his concerns.
“We agreed to disagree,” he said. “But they basically told me they would take care of the schools. It was mine and the county’s job to take care of the roads.”

This story was updated 4:07 pm on 3/27/2019 so it does not exactly match the printed edition.