Tom Warne Report, 23 January 2013
COLUMBIA – A gas tax hike in South Carolina to match North Carolina’s would only bring enough revenue to cover half of what the state needs for its roads and bridges, state Transportation Secretary Robert St. Onge told lawmakers this week. In a meeting with the Senate Transportation Committee, St. Onge told members that the state needs about $1.4 billion annually in additional funding to cover capacity needs and perform proper maintenance for state roads and bridges.
When Senate Finance Committee Chairman High Leatherman asked if raising the gas tax to North Carolina’s level would cover the shortage, St. Onge said it would not. But he said he would take any increase in funding for state roads. “Every little bit helps,” St. Onge said.
Senators agreed that the state needs more road funding, however none proposed a way to solve the problem.
St. Onge said about 50% of the state’s primary roads receive a poor rating, and 53 percent of roads in the secondary system are rated as poor. As for the state’s bridge system, 886 out of 8,383 bridges are deemed structurally deficient.