Pickens County, SC Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Division 3 of Chapter 32, §§ 32-131 through 32-134, sets the process for tying a private driveway into a Pickens County-maintained road. Anyone planning an access driveway must notify the department of roads and bridges, and anyone who receives a building permit that requires a driveway is given a copy of the roadside access ordinance along with the encroachment permit application in Appendix D. Notice can be given in person at the department's office at 186 Prison Camp Road in Pickens, by phone at 864-898-5934, or by mail, and must include the owner's name, address, daytime phone number and the exact proposed driveway location, ideally marked with two stakes about 20 feet apart at the tie-in point.

Department staff then verify the location against the county's E-911 addressing ordinance and the development standards ordinance, confirm the site has adequate sight distance in both directions, and determine whether a drainage pipe is needed and what size. If a pipe is required, the owner is notified of an installation fee set by council resolution before the county begins the pipe-laying and grading work, which extends from the pavement edge to about 15 feet into the right-of-way. Gravel driveways may later receive a county-installed asphalt cap near the road edge; concrete or asphalt driveways built past that point are the owner's own responsibility to install and maintain.

Once the county completes and approves the tie-in, the county maintains it going forward, but any unapproved alteration or privately built tie-in using unapproved materials carries no county maintenance obligation, and the county can order the owner to fix any resulting drainage problem.