The funding from the recently signed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will integrate well into the South Carolina DOT's (SCDOT) 10-Year Plan to upgrade and improve the state's roads and bridges, the department says.
The 10-Year Plan was launched in 2018 and is backed by a combination of state and federal funds, including having already incorporated into it the baseline funding included in the bipartisan federal infrastructure funding package. The plan is focused on repaving thousands of miles of highways in the state, replacing hundreds of bridges, widening of critical segments of interstates, and improving many rural roads to drive down the state's rural fatality rate, according to a press release.
The bipartisan IIJA also included some additional funding, above and beyond the baseline levels. The additional federal funding is projected to be approximately $250 million per year for the state and will flow directly to SCDOT for incorporation into the 10-Year Plan.
"The bipartisan infrastructure package will enable SCDOT to boost investment in projects designed to improve safety, mobility, and the quality of life for the residents, businesses, and visitors in the Palmetto State," SCDOT Secretary of Transportation Christy A. Hall said in a statement. "In addition, the measure provides much needed flexibility at the state level, cuts red tape, streamlines project development, and provides a reliable, stable federal funding stream for the next five years."
The SCDOT Commission has already approved the deployment of the additional funds in the following manner to supplement and enhance the previously adopted 10-Year Plan: $100 million boost for regional mobility projects; $69 million boost for more bridge projects; $30 million boost for interstate widening projects; $21 million boost for safety projects across the state; $15 million for large, capital drainage projects; $13 million for electric vehicle charging/infrastructure projects; and $2 million for the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).
SCDOT will now move forward with identifying, ranking and prioritizing additional projects to fit within these enhanced and expanded programs in the 10-Year Plan.
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SOURCE: South Carolina DOT
