Governor Asks for Extra $1.1B for S.C. Roads

Skylar Laird/South Carolina Daily Gazette

COLUMBIA — Gov. Henry McMaster is asking legislators to spend an additional $1.1 billion on road projects to keep up with inflation costs, he announced Monday in a preview of his total budget recommendations.

That’s nearly as much as legislators have spent on roads and bridges in the past four years combined, according to the announcement.

Construction costs have surged nationally in recent years, and repairs and improvements to roads and bridges weren’t spared. The problem is especially acute in places like South Carolina, where fast-growing populations mean more traffic and wear-and-tear on existing roads, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

McMaster’s full budget suggestions are expected next week, when the Legislature returns to Columbia for the 2026 session.

Revenue estimates updated in November provided the Legislature nearly $2.5 billion in additional money to spend in the fiscal year starting July 1. That breaks down to $1.7 billion in unspent reserves and above-expectation tax collections so far this year — meant for one-time expenses — and $734 million from continued economic growth available for ongoing expenses, according to the state Board of Economic Advisors.

McMaster’s request would consume more than 60% of the one-time money — what’s considered budget surplus. And with proposed reductions to the state income tax potentially decreasing revenue collections in the coming years, McMaster says it’s important that legislators dedicate a huge chunk of that existing surplus toward fixing the roads.

“Our population is skyrocketing, and inflation is driving up construction costs, creating potential delays,” McMaster said in a statement. “We can’t make more time, but we can use this new surplus money to keep road projects moving and on schedule.”

Revenue hasn’t kept up with the cost of inflation, Secretary of Transportation Justin Powell wrote in a December letter to the governor.

To illustrate his point, Powell pointed to the 28-cent gas tax every driver has paid per gallon since 2022, the completion of a six-year phase-in.

In 2017, when the Legislature passed a law that gradually increased the per-gallon tax by 12 cents, one penny per person per gallon could pay to pave 114 miles of two-lane highway. In 2025, it could pave 87 miles, Powell wrote.

The governor’s request would add to the nearly $7 billion in contracted construction projects underway statewide.

Of the approximately $1.1 billion request, $600 million would help pay for ongoing interstate projects with increased price tags, $400 million would help fund repairs to the state’s aging system of bridges, and $150 million would allow new projects to move ahead, Powell wrote.

Without the money, projects already underway could take years longer than anticipated, Powell wrote. The longer a project takes, the more expensive it becomes, he added.

“As SCDOT has seen, these delays only lead to additional cost increases, a vicious cycle that is challenging departments across the nation as they work to deliver critical infrastructure,” Powell wrote.

That includes two interstate widening projects: One would complete the widening of I-26 between Columbia and Charleston to three lanes each way. The other would widen the first 10 miles of I-95 from the Georgia border to U.S. Highway 278 in Jasper County. The cost of both projects has spiked since 2022, with the 70-mile I-26 project surging from just over $2 billion to $3 billion and the I-95 project going from $977 million to nearly $2.3 billion, according to Powell’s letter.

Another major interstate project, Columbia’s Carolina Crossroads, saw a significant increase as well, from $2.1 billion in 2022 to $2.8 billion by the end of 2025, Powell wrote. The project is expected to fix the notorious snarl of interstate ramps more commonly called Malfunction Junction.

Along with funding ongoing improvements, the money could help get two new projects off the ground, Powell wrote.

The agency plans to eventually widen Interstate 85 between Anderson and Oconee counties and Interstate 77 between Chester and Rock Hill. With $75 million, the agency could begin pre-construction design work, making it easier to apply for grants that could allow construction to begin sooner than the anticipated earliest start date of 2035, Powell wrote.

The I-77 project would widen the interstate to three lanes each way from S.C. Highway 9, east of Chester, to U.S. Highway 21, where it already spans six lanes total.

Another $75 million could pay for a study on how to improve parts of interstates 26, 85 and 77 near Charlotte, also moving up the start date from 2035 at the earliest, Powell wrote.

On the North Carolina side of the border, transportation officials are working to upgrade 11 miles of highway, including adding express lanes and reconstructing interchanges and bridges, in an effort to reduce congestion, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The rest of the money would go toward repairing and replacing bridges.

Three years ago, then-DOT Secretary Christy Hall asked legislators for a $1 billion commitment for bridgework over five years. But legislators declined to include any additional money for bridges in their final 2023-24 budget package. Then the emergency closure of Interstate 20 days before Christmas in 2023 highlighted the need.

Last summer, the Legislature approved a second installment of $200 million for bridgework. Weeks after the budget took effect, a large chunk of a weight-restricted bridge in Pickens County collapsed after a truck crossed it. No one was injured. The bridge is expected to reopen next month following emergency repairs.

Of the state’s 8,450 bridges, more than 2,800 are more than 60 years old, which is when many need repairs or replacement, according to Powell’s letter. Around 80 bridges were closed as of Dec. 4, when Powell sent his letter, he wrote.

The $400 million designated for bridgework over the last two years added to the $239 million the agency already spent annually on bridges, allowing the addition of 278 bridges to its list for imminent repairs.

In its budget request, submitted last September, the agency sought $300 million — rather than $200 million — for the third bridgework installment.

McMaster’s office uses agencies’ requests to craft the governor’s recommendations.

In an attempt to save some money on future repairs, the department’s request also asks legislators for $25 million to transfer state-owned roads to local cities and counties, reducing the number of miles the state must manage.

South Carolina has the fourth-largest state highway system in the country, despite ranking 23rd in population, according to the Department of Transportation. Moving smaller roads to local ownership would free up staffing and money the department could dedicate to interstates and major highways, according to the agency’s budget request.

Similar “road buyback” proposals have been unsuccessful, with local governments unwilling to take on the financial responsibility. The DOT is asking the Legislature for the authority to negotiate with local governments on payments for such transfers. Lawmakers would then have to approve the list.