It’s hard to drive across South Carolina these days without noticing a dramatic increase in road and highway work. That’s because almost $5 billion in construction and repaving is underway according to the state Department of Transportation (SCDOT).
South Carolina’s gas tax is now slightly below 29 cents a gallon after incrementally increasing from just under 17 cents beginning in 2017. The 12 cents increase alone has generated over $1 billion dollars for road and bridge work. Combined with other fees, SCDOT currently has some $3.4 billion dollars in its Gas Tax Trust Fund to pay for needed improvements.
SCDOT Secretary Christy Hall says the enactment of the so-called “Roads Bill” in 2017 has for the first time in 30 years allowed the department to use what is now a dedicated revenue stream to make significant strides in improving the highway system.
“Most everybody can see some level of improvement on the roads themselves, whether it’s new pavements, new bridges, safety projects and certainly our interstate widening program that we’ve launched across the state is very visible,” Hall said.
In 2017, SCDOT developed a 10-year plan for road improvements. Roughly about $2.7 billion is funding more than 7,000 miles of paving projects. Another $280 million is going to highway improvements on the state’s deadliest rural roads, and millions more are slated for interstate widening and bridge improvements. In addition to the new gas tax revenue, which in the month of July alone generated $72 million, the state legislature has for the first time specifically spent money to improve roads, according to SCDOT Chief of Staff Justin Powell.
“Last year the General Assembly really took a first step of funding roads through the General Fund. $120 Million was set aside to help us fully draw down all the federal dollars that we can have available to match those dollars,” Powell said.
The General Assembly ponied up another $100 million in surplus funds to speed up fully widening Interstate 26 between Charleston and Columbia.
There are 8,500 bridges in the state highway system. Many of those, including major interstate bridges, are nearing the end of their life spans, making bridges a critical focus for SCDOT.
Another goal of the 10-year plan is to repair or replace 500 bridges, according to Rob Perry, the department's chief engineer for bridges.
“We have 1,700 bridges that are 60 years or older,” Perry said. “You’ve got to think about a bridge like a body. When it gets to 65 or 70 years old, things are going to start breaking down. That’s just life.”
SCDOT has big plans for some major new interstate bridges, including the Interstate 95, US 301 span across Lake Marion, and where I-95 crosses the Great Pee Dee River in Florence County.
In 2020, the Interstate 526 Wando River bridge, the gateway to the giant Wando Port terminal, was forced to close temporarily for emergency repairs. Secretary Hall says that unexpected closure was “eye-opening” as to what an integral role the highway system has to play in the state’s economy.
“I view our job as not only focused on roads and bridges of the state, but having a clear understanding of how we fit into the overall economic prosperity, and that engine that’s driving this state forward.” Hall said.
Hall also said that SCDOT itself has had to evolve from where it was 10 years ago, when it struggled to just maintain the highway system, to now being a well-funded, critical component of the state’s economic well-being.
