Progress Not Without Challenges
The Senate Transportation Committee, chaired by Senator Larry Grooms (R-Berkeley), met last week to hear from Secretary of Transportation Justin Powell about the State of the SCDOT.
Secretary Powell said that the agency is delivering on the promises made with the passage of Act 40 and subsequent one-time investments made by the legislature. Thanks to these investments, thousands of miles of roads and hundreds of bridges have been improved.
However, this progress is not without challenges, and because of this, the state needs to approach business differently. Luckily, the SCDOT Modernization legislation (S.831) is a good start to aid the agency in meeting some of these challenges.
New Tools for a New Era
To address these challenges, Secretary Powell highlighted how some of the provisions in the Senate Modernization bill (S.831) will equip the agency with additional tools to enhance operations and efficiency, including:
P3s and choice lanes are a new concept for South Carolina. Preliminary estimates for traffic on one of the most congested segments of I-26 in the lowcountry indicate that adding two choice lanes in each direction could improve commute times for all drivers, not just those using the tolled new lanes.
More with More, Less with Less
Turning to funding, Secretary Powell explained how the buying power of the state’s revenues, especially gas taxes, continue to diminish due to inflation, improved fuel economy, and the adoption of electric vehicles. As a result, dollars are not going as far as they used to, which is evident in the pavement program.
Given these constraints, Secretary Powell said that if the expectation is for the agency to deliver more, additional funding would be required.
Echoing this point, Senator Grooms recalled Secretary Hall’s remarks from a few years ago: “You get more with more. Less with less.”
We couldn’t agree more. To truly modernize the system, we must update our policies and expand our toolbox, including revenue sources.