Driving School in Chapin, SC

Construction on the Chapin Bypass and Columbia Avenue widening could begin this summer, with new roads, bike lanes and sidewalks planned.

CHAPIN, S.C. — After more than a decade of delays, a major road project aimed at easing traffic in Chapin is finally moving forward.

Construction on the Chapin Bypass and the expansion of Columbia Avenue could begin as early as this summer. The update comes after a packed community forum where residents gathered to hear final plans and share feedback with local leaders.

“This is a day to really be excited and celebrate. It’s been 12 years in the making,” said Chapin Mayor Bill Mitchell.

A large crowd filled Mt. Horeb Lutheran Church to review the proposal. Plans call for Columbia Avenue to be widened to four lanes with a center median stretching from Chapin High School out towards the interstate. The project also includes two new three-lane roads designed to allow drivers to bypass downtown Chapin and connect to Amicks Ferry Road.

Transportation officials say contractor bidding is expected to begin this spring, with construction potentially starting this summer.

Ginny Jones, public involvement director for the South Carolina Department of Transportation, said the first visible work will involve clearing along Columbia Avenue to prepare for utility relocation before the roadway is widened.

“We will do everything in our power to mitigate the traffic during construction, like not working during rush hour and making sure one lane in each direction is open on Columbia Avenue,” Jones said.

In addition to easing congestion, the project will add bike lanes and sidewalks along the new roads and Columbia Avenue. Mayor Mitchell said those features were strongly requested by residents who want more walkable options.

“People want to be able to walk, ride bikes and walk their pets, and be able to park in one location and walk to retail or a restaurant,” Mitchell said.

Leaders at Mt. Horeb Lutheran Church also expressed support, noting the improvements could make it easier and safer for people entering and leaving the church.

“It’s very important that the traffic be handled well, and this new bypass will help alleviate that concern,” said Pastor Ron Philabaum.

The full construction project is expected to be completed in 2029.

CHAPIN — A town near Lake Murray is close to beginning construction on a bypass project that aims to lessen traffic congestion on a main road.

The Chapin Bypass and Columbia Avenue project will construct two new roads off of heavy traffic areas, and then widen Columbia Avenue. Both roads will have a stoplight at intersections and accommodate two lanes of traffic, project designs show.

The first bypass road will start off of Amicks Ferry Road and cut through Lexington Avenue and Chapin Road. It will end in a roundabout near Abner Montessori School that will intersect East Boundary Street, Stonewall Court and the second new road, designs show. Installing roundabouts around the town has made a “tremendous impact” on efforts to lower traffic accidents, said Bill Dukes, a commissioner for the state Department of Transportation.

The second bypass road will begin off of Columbia Avenue, pass between the sports fields behind Chapin High School and the Upcycle Facility, and end at the same roundabout, designs show.

Preparation for construction will begin in April, including clearing trees to allow for utility work, Department of Transportation representatives said. Construction affecting local traffic will begin around June or July.

The new roads, which will be named by Chapin Mayor Bill Mitchell, will be constructed and open for traffic before crews begin widening Columbia Avenue to allow for traffic flow, according to DOT.

Crews will keep one of the two lanes on Columbia Avenue open to traffic at all times during the widening project, and will accommodate rush hours by limiting construction during high-traffic times, DOT representatives said.

Whart are people saying about the project?

Nearly 100 Chapin residents attended a community forum about the project held Thursday evening at Mt. Horeb Lutheran Church next door to the site of the second new road. Three residents who attended said they were left with questions and were unsure how to feel about the project.

But the mayor expressed excitement.

“It has been a slow train coming, but it’s very likely that in [April] we’ll be stabbing some gold shovels in the ground to officially kick off construction of the long overdue project that we need desperately,” he said. “We’ve had traffic congestion, and the roads just cannot bear it.”

The project has received $90 million in funding from the Central Midlands Council of Governments, which takes federal and state funds and puts them towards long-range road projects, Lexington County Councilmember Charli Wessinger said.

When the project is complete, residents will be able to park their vehicles at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church on Amicks Ferry Road, and bike or walk all the way to Interstate 26 from the new bypass, Dukes said.

“One of the concerns that we all have is that the beauty and the charm of the capital of Lake Murray is preserved in some way,” Mt. Horeb Lutheran Church Reverend Ron Philabaum said at the forum. “Families are what make this town so beautiful and treasured, so we want it to be a safe place, so when we're driving or as we're walking on sidewalks, we can get to and from without any problem.”

The project was initiated in 2012 by a former Lexington County councilmember in collaboration with the Department of Transportation, Wessinger said. Since then, the project has been fully designed and changes can no longer be made, she said.

Columbia Avenue sees traffic from 13,200 vehicles per day, compared to just 1,200 on nearby East Boundary Street, according to 2024 SCDOT data.

Clearing the way for new housing?

The new project comes amid controversy over a proposed nearly 400-home development off of Columbia Avenue that has stalled for over a year.

The Brighton residential and commercial development project initially called for nearly 500 homes and commercial space on 161 acres of land off of Columbia Avenue. Mungo Homes has scaled the project back throughout months of debate, with plans presented to the commission in July 2025 calling for 382 single-family homes.

At present, Chapin’s population is about 1,800.

Chapin’s Planning Commission voted unanimously in November 2025 to push discussions of the Brighton development to an undetermined later date after multiple rounds of talks. Town officials and residents have raised concerns over the density, appearance and traffic impact on the community.

The Planning Commission ultimately told developer Mungo Homes to come back to a future meeting to respond to a list of concerns they felt still hadn’t been addressed at the November meeting. It is unclear when Mungo will return with additional information to another Planning Commission meeting.

If approved, Mungo hopes to break ground on the first phase of the development in early 2028, to be completed in early 2029, Mungo land acquisition manager Austin Monts said in November. The remaining four phases would be completed between 2030 and 2033, he said.

An additional traffic study alone that was requested by Planning Commission member Clay Cannon could take months to complete, Monts said in November.

The non-development continues as the town’s mayor hopes to limit growth. The new housing, if filled, would nearly double Chapin’s population.

“The crowd is coming here, and we welcome them,” Mitchell said at the Feb. 19 forum. “I’m just saying, ‘Can we do it a little slower?’ [We need to] get the roads in place … any other kind of behavior would be complicit with the problem.”

A 73-year-old Chapin man has been fined $10,000 for conspiracy to engage in an illegal Lexington County gambling operation.

Instead of prison, Jesse O. Helms will spend five years on supervised probation during which time he will not be allowed to do any form of gambling, according to sentencing U.S. District Judge Sherri Lydon. He will also be tested for drugs up to two times a week, according to court documents.

Helms, a former convenience store operator, must also participate in a gambling addiction program, according to court documents.

Helms was the last person to be sentenced in a profitable five-person conspiracy to run a video poker-type gambling business in Lexington County.

Since his arrest on gambling charges, Helms has undergone drug rehabilitation for an addiction to the prescription pain killer oxycodone, said Helms’ lawyer, Jake Moore Sr.

“He got addicted to prescription medicine, couldn’t get off it, and wound up trying to make some money to pay for a problem,” Moore said. “He said he wanted to thank the officers for arresting him because if he hadn’t gotten arrested, he’d be dead by now.”

“He said he felt like drugs and gambling had ruined his life, and he asked the court to accept his apology,” Moore said.

Moore said Judge Lydon “bent over backwards to see that justice was done. I was incredibly impressed with the way she approached the case. It wasn’t just another case.” Lydon went along “with the idea” that he should go into drug treatment before sentencing, Moore said.

The operation’s kingpin, Fred McCary, 68, a well-known Lexington County businessman, was sentenced last October to six months in prison, six months home detention and a $1 million forfeiture.

An indictment in the case said that McCary and Helms owned an ongoing illegal gambling business that had over 25 “Pot O Gold” slot machines and video gaming machines capable of playing games such as Shamrock Ts, Joker Poker, Keno, Deuces Wild, and Jacks or Better.

The video poker operation at times made up to $100,000 per week, according to evidence in the case. The operation was open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily and necessitated two shifts of workers to oversee the business.

McCary and Helms bought and maintained the slot machines and illegal gambling machines as part of their illegal gambling operation, which was located at 5042 Platt Springs Road and 1320 South Lake Drive, both in Lexington, the indictment said.

An investigation into the operation began in 2023 when the Lexington County sheriff’s office got a tip about people losing money at a building where the gambling was taking place. The tipster said there were gambling machines, fighting and guns at the building. When a deputy tried to investigate, no one would let him in the building, according to evidence in the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lothrop Morris prosecuted the case. The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the State Law Enforcement Division.

Chapin High School is staying within the Midlands for its next head football coach.

Pelion football coach Cory Helms will be the Eagles’ next coach and 10th in program history. Helms replaces Ryan Cole, who stepped down after two seasons and is now the school’s assistant principal.

Helms was introduced at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. The former standout offensive lineman at South Carolina, was a candidate at Chapin two years ago before the school hired Cole.

Helms said that Chapin was one of the top jobs he eyed when he got into coaching several years ago.

“This isn’t just a 5A job that is out there. This is one I have really wanted,” Helms said. “It has an opportunity to be special. It has got great people here, great resources and great community. The sky is the limit at a place like this. ... They are hungry for success.”

Helms has done a good job in turning programs around, and he will have work to do at Chapin. The Eagles are coming off an 0-10 season, the school’s first winless campaign since 1998. It was the first time the program missed the playoffs since the COVID year in 2020.

Helms’ ability to rebuild programs is something that stood out during the process, Chapin athletic director Billie Williams said at the press conference.

“We were looking for a coach to bring energy, structure and experience building programs and relationships with your people,” Williams said. “... Coach Helms brings a contagious passion for football, has energy that elevates everyone around him and has ability to build something special for our players.”

The Eagles will stay in Class 5A as part of the S.C. High School League’s 2026-28 realignment plan and will be in a region with Lexington, White Knoll, Dutch Fork and River Bluff. Dutch Fork has won nine state titles in the last 10 years, while Irmo has made back-to-back championship appearances and White Knoll played for a title in 2023.

“If you are a true competitor, that is what you want. That is a huge core value of our group is competing,” Helms said. “... I told the players today, I ain’t scared of nothing. I have taken over places that struggled and it doesn’t scare me. I love the challenge. It is fun.”

Helms spent last season at Pelion, where he led the Panthers to a 5-6 record and a trip to the Class 2A playoffs in his lone season. The five wins were the most for the program since 2014.

Helms told his Pelion players of the decision Tuesday morning and called it one of the toughest things he has had to do.

Before Pelion, Helms spent three seasons as head coach at Cardinal Newman, a private school in Columbia, and compiled a 16-18 record with three playoff appearances. The 16 wins were the most in a three-year span since the Cards won 18 from 1997-99.

Helms was an offensive line coach for three seasons at Gray Collegiate before landing his first head coaching job. He spent one year as a graduate assistant at USC after a brief stint in the NFL.

He signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent in 2018 and also was on the Cincinnati Bengals’ roster later that year, where he played in two preseason games.

Helms, a Georgia native, started his college career at Wake Forest before transferring to South Carolina. At USC, he made 46 starts combined at guard and center during his career.

Helms said he hopes to start at Chapin as soon as possible and will begin the process of hiring assistant coaches either on staff or bringing them into the program.

With Chapin’s hire, there are three openings left in the Midlands at White Knoll, A.C. Flora and Pelion. White Knoll is expected to bring the name of its next head coach for board approval at Tuesday night’s Lexington 1 school board meeting.

SC Football Coaching Openings

School — Former Coach — New Coach

AC Flora — Ken Floyd — TBA

Belton-Honea Path — Russell Blackston — TBA

Chapin — Ryan Cole — Cory Helms

Clover — Perry Woolright — TBA

Colleton County — Adam Kinloch — TBA

Conway — Josh Pierce — Jody Jenerette

Goose Creek — Jason Winstead — TBA

Green Sea Floyds — Patrick Martin — TBA

Lake Wylie — (School opens in 2026) — N/A — Nick Pelham

Liberty — Paul Sutherland — Bobby Ruff

McCormick — Leroy Collier — TBA

Marion — Brian Hennecy — TBA

May River — Richard Bonneville — TBA

Ninety-Six — Matthew Bennett — TBA

North Myrtle Beach — Greg Hill — Perry Woolbright

Pelion — Cory Helms — TBA

St. James — Tommy Norwood — Stephen Cagle

Sumter — Mark Barnes — TBA

Union County — Quinnon Isom — Bryan Robinson

Wagener-Salley — Blaze Gillespie — TBA

Whale Branch — Willie White (interim) — TBA

White Knoll — Nick Pelham — TBA