A new car wash is coming to U.S. 98 near Griner Drilling Service.
Builder Jody Jordan addressed the Columbia Board of Aldermen Tuesday before the Board voted to give him a variance for an extra 5 feet, which he said is needed for proper traffic flow.
He said the tunnel-style facility will be an “Express Car Wash.”
“We’ve built 40 to 50 of these things over about five different states. You have them in Hattiesburg. We did not build those, but this is the same type of car wash,” Jordan said. “The owner of this particular one has three in Jackson. We just finished one in the Brandon area, and he wants to bring that same product down to Columbia.”
Jordan said the variance was necessary to make the car wash work on the deeper lot.
“The easement is a 20-foot easement, and I need five more feet to put my building there. It’s critical because of the layout for the traffic flow in these things. On certain days, you may have 600 or 700 cars come through this,” he said. “The flow of traffic and being wide enough to allow persons to back out and all of these things is critical. That’s why were asking for the extra 5 feet.”
City Attorney Lawrence Hahn said a public notice for Tuesday’s hearing ran in the newspaper and that a setback variance is not as major as a rezoning.
Ward 4 Alderman Mike Smith made a motion to approve the variance, and it was seconded by Ward 1 Alderman Wendell Hammond. The Board voted 5-0 in favor.
Jordan said construction will likely begin soon.
Pictured Above: A sign marks the spot where construction will begin soon on a new car wash along U.S. 98. | Photo by Mark Rogers
