SC Roads

[cabelagent 142]

3 hours ago, Spartan said:

 

I read somewhere that also stipulates that they have to work with local communities to design streets based on local needs and conditions. This is a major step forward and will be transformative in the long run.  

 

 

They have already started. You can see the resurfacing plans on their website.  https://www.scdot.org/business/pdf/tentativeLetting/Rehab_Resurface.pdf

You can also see the condition of the roads on this map. It's going to take a LONG time to get caught up. 3 decades of deferred maintenance will definitely do that for you. The other component is that some roads will be redesigned and rebuilt. That process takes longer (5+ years), depending on the size of the project. So it may take a while before we start seeing major improvements.

https://scdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MinimalGallery/index.html?appid=de87f3f11994456ca871b20dfb0070be#viewer=c49faa06e0904f9fa1b4b1ce78266a2c

 

Thanks Spartan....it's troubling there's nothing listed on (tentative) list to resurface roads in Greenville or Spartanburg Counties...or majority of upstate SC for that matter. 

I know we must be patient due to the sorry shape of roads...but there's many roads that are poor/crappy and it appears now it will be a long while before anything happens in our area. Frustrating....

Edited February 23 by cabelagent

[Spartan 1556]

On 2/22/2021 at 10:01 PM, cabelagent said:

Thanks Spartan....it's troubling there's nothing listed on (tentative) list to resurface roads in Greenville or Spartanburg Counties...or majority of upstate SC for that matter. 

I know we must be patient due to the sorry shape of roads...but there's many roads that are poor/crappy and it appears now it will be a long while before anything happens in our area. Frustrating....

My guess is that they have a prioritization process that is applied uniformly across the SCDOT divisions. Thats typically how something like this would work, anyway. The process will appear very random to the public, and I would expect to see roads resurfaced across the state in all counties. I have seen several in Spartanburg that have been resurfaced that I wasn't expecting. So patience is key, and then monitoring the list and the map to see when your road of interest gets on the list. 

[gman430 8995]

On 2/17/2021 at 3:27 PM, cabelagent said:

This is good....so when does SCDOT begin paving  MANY roads that need it BADLY?  It's getting  tiresome  dodging potholes & driving crappy (state) roads all over the state.

They won’t start paving roads until the Spring as the temperature has to be at least 50 degrees for the asphalt to cure properly. 

[gman430 8995]

The state Department of Transportation is using roughly $140 million in federal COVID-19 aid to pay off debt and free up money for more interstate projects.

The DOT board’s unanimous vote March 18 authorized Secretary Christy Hall to start the process of paying off the agency’s debt years ahead of schedule. She’ll come back to the board with recommendations on how to redirect the money that would otherwise make loan payments. 

The payoff is estimated to free up $13 million yearly that can go to local highway projects. 
 

The money comes from $166 million that the spending package Congress passed in December sent to South Carolina to offset losses in gas tax revenue from fewer people driving and fueling up amid the pandemic.

That was South Carolina’s share of $9.8 billion in COVID-19 relief sent to state DOTs nationwide, with far more flexibility than normal federal highway funding and no local match required.  

Unlike other states, South Carolina’s DOT didn’t need that federal aid to fill a budget hole, partly because of rising vehicle sales amid the pandemic. And when people buy a vehicle in South Carolina, the taxes on that sale, capped at $500, goes to the DOT. 

“We had a surge in this state of people buying cars — a lot of cars,” Hall told the board.

While that still left a $40 million gap over the last year due to declining gas tax revenue, the agency made cuts internally to cover that without needing to cut or delay any road or bridge project, Hall said. 

[Skyliner 121]

I posted this in the Greenville forum, but believe it is relevant here as well.

I noticed automatic road analyzer (ARAN) vehicles in just about every part of Greenville, Pickens, and Anderson Counties during the last week.  I am thankful to have found evidence of potential future road maintenance.

By the way, we have been blessed with some very beautiful rural countryside in the Upstate [and across the Carolinas], and the roads outside the more densely populated areas aren't all full of potholes and litter.