SC Legislative Update

By Ben Homeyer

South Carolina saw near historic rainfall from the effects of tropical storm Debby.  At the height of the storm over 170 roadways and bridges were closed due to flooding with numerous roads seeing sinkholes, as well as collapses.  Those roads will require significant repairs requiring help from our members.  

SCDOT will receive $1.6 million for a Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) study to evaluate the replacement needs for six rural bridges in fair or poor condition along the Interstate 85 corridor in partnership with the Georgia Department of Transportation.

Last Friday the state was awarded a $175 million federal grant award for the I-95 bridge over Lake Marion. The grant will allow the four bridges, originally constructed in 1968, with narrow shoulders and roadway approaches, to be rebuilt into one bridge, with two 12-foot travel lanes in both directions. The project provides a barrier-separated bicycle/pedestrian path and space for a potential future additional travel lane in each direction with a 10-foot minimum inside shoulder and a 12-foot outside shoulder. It is yet another bridge project that will require copious amounts of ready-mix concrete to be completed.

Several counties are preparing for referendums on the November ballot.  These will be for an extra penny for local transportation projects.  These projects will be of various degrees requiring concrete.

Referendums

  • Anderson County – 1% if approved by voters, the referendum is estimated to generate $366 million over seven years for road and bridge improvements across the county.
  • Beaufort County—1% Transportation Tax: The tax is estimated to generate $950 million over 10 years. If voters approve, it will begin in May 2025.  
  • Charleston County—0.5% Transportation Tax: The tax is estimated to generate approximately $5.4 billion over 25 years. If voters approve, it will begin when the current 2004 half-cent tax expires (2030) or when all revenues from the 2004 tax have been collected, whichever comes first. 
  • Horry County—1% Transportation Tax: The tax is estimated to generate $6.35 billion over 25 years. If voters approve, the tax will begin in May 2025 after the current capital project sales tax program expires. 
  • Greenville County – 1% Transportation Tax: If approved by voters, the 1% Capital Project Sales Tax would be the county’s first local option sales tax. The tax would go into effect in Spring 2025 and generate approximately $1 billion over eight years. All proceeds would be used to fund over 1,500 road and bridge improvements across the county. 
  • Lancaster County—1% Transportation Tax: The tax is estimated to generate $405 million over the next 15 years. If voters approve, the tax will begin in May 2025. 
  • Richland County—1% Transportation Tax: The tax is estimated to generate $4.5 billion over 25 years. If voters approve, the tax will begin after the current transportation tax expires in 2026. 
  • York County—1% Capital Project Sales Tax: The tax is estimated to generate $410 million over seven years. If voters approve, the tax will begin when the current capital project sales tax expires in 2025.