The SCDOT Modernization Ad Hoc Committee, chaired by Representatives Heather Crawford (R-Horry) and Shannon Erickson (R-Beaufort), met in Greenville on Wednesday to hear from the SC Department of Public Safety (DPS) and SCDOT, and to receive public testimony.
The committee received an overview of the SC Highway Patrol and heard from Emily Thomas with the SC Office of Highway Safety and Justice Programs, which works with state and local law enforcement agencies to develop and implement highway safety programs.
The office also owns the state’s traffic records system, which includes data on traffic collisions. Based on data from 2020 to 2024, lane departures and speeding remain the top contributors to crashes statewide.
Members of the committee requested that DPS follow up with a comparison of how South Carolina stacks up to other states in terms of traffic collisions and contributing factors.
Secretary of Transportation Justin Powell provided brief remarks to the committee regarding projects in the Greenville area, noting that the buying power of transportation dollars continues to decline. The proof is in the state’s pavement program. Over the past year alone, the state lost two miles of paving. The same penny that paved 114 miles in 2017, paved 87 miles in FY24-25 (down from 89 miles in FY23-24).
Public testimony at the meeting offered a glimpse into industry perspectives, ranging from those who actually build and repair roads to those who supply the materials necessary to make these improvements.
Casey Schwager, President of King Asphalt, offered a business perspective on inflation, congestion, and industry capacity.
“The highways and bridges that our fathers and grandfathers built cannot stand for 60-100 years without being rebuilt and replaced. Design life, weight of vehicles, and volume of vehicles have all changed,” he said.
Schwager went on to note the state was able to ramp up and start catching up on repairs. However, he noted that while progress has been made, based on the size of the state system, “at this rate it will take us 59 years to cycle through all of our roads,” he said.
He expressed concerns about the current funding levels’ inability to meet needs, noting that businesses must have the ability to plan and invest. The loss of buying power of the state’s gas tax creates uncertainties for long-term planning.
Jessica Palmer, Executive Director of the SC Aggregates Association (SCAA), educated the committee on the role that aggregate materials play, not just as the foundation of infrastructure projects, but also the economic impacts of these businesses statewide.
Several other advocacy groups and representatives from local programs testified in support of mass transit, reiterating the role these services play in communities, especially in facilitating access to employment and healthcare services. Additional funding and improving procurement processes for vehicles were among the items suggested to the committee for consideration.
The committee plans to meet again on September 23 in Myrtle Beach.