The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) continues to make progress in delivering its 10-year plan, made possible through the funding investments made in the 2017 Roads Bill. SCDOT has made progress in all key areas in its 10-Year plan.
Paving: SCDOT has doubled the number of pavements rated as good since the 2017 Roads Bill was passed. Over 5,800 miles of paving work has gone to contract in that time and the SCDOT Commission recently adopted its new 2022-2023 paving program. This will result in approximately 1,133 more miles of the state’s roads being rehabilitated and resurfaced.
Bridges: SCDOT’s Bridge Program is ahead of schedule having contracted the replacement of 235 obsolete and structurally deficient bridges. The new target is to have contracts awarded to replace 500 bridges at the end of the 10-year plan.
Rural Road Safety: South Carolina has the nation’s worst rural fatality rate with 30 percent of the fatalities happening on just 5 percent of the road network. The Rural Roads Safety Program aims to reduce that fatality rate and started out with a goal of improving 1,000 miles of rural roads in 10 years. The miles improved in this program stands at 722 miles. The goal has been extended to 1,250 miles.
Interstate Capacity: Interstates serve as the arteries of commerce for South Carolina’s growing economy. Interstate highways in South Carolina have had 80 miles improved at the six-year mark. The new target is a minimum of 140 miles under contract by 2027.
This progress has been made possible by the increased funding that came from the 2017 Roads Bill. July 1, 2022 marks the sixth and final gas tax increase since the General Assembly in 2017 approved a 12-cent increase phased in at two cents per year as part of the historic Roads Bill.
“We remain grateful for the General Assembly in creating sustainable, additional funding in 2017, allowing our state to counter 30 years of deferred maintenance on our transportation network,” said SCDOT Commission Chairman David E. “Gene” Branham Sr.
The SCDOT also places a high value on the accountability and the transparency of the 10-year plan. The agency invites the public to review our county-by-county project list, the monthly account statement, an archive of previous monthly statements and a record of payments made to contractors and vendors. This information is available on the website: www.scdot.org. Click on the link to “New Gas Tax Funds.”
