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Article published Dec 15, 2004
Lawmakers must fund highway and secondary road
maintenance
When lawmakers return to Columbia next month, they
must come up with increased funding for the state's highways and secondary
roads.During tight budgets, money for maintenance is often cut first. But
deferred maintenance adds up. Buildings, equipment and even roads that aren't
maintained wear out sooner. Scrimping on maintenance doesn't save money in the
long run.South Carolina has been trying to save money on road maintenance. The
state Department of Transportation reports an annual shortfall of $560 million
for road maintenance and $1.3 billion for construction. The department scuttled
its routine resurfacing program for secondary roads four years ago due to budget
cuts.The longer the state refuses to spend money on its roads, the worse its
road system will become.The department's commission has asked the governor and
lawmakers to pass a funding package to relieve this "crisis."Lawmakers have to
address this problem. It makes no sense to pursue other avenues to enhance the
state's business climate while ignoring the state's transportation needs.Several
options have been proposed.The most simple would be to increase the state's
gasoline tax. That money could be used directly for road maintenance and
construction. South Carolina has one of the lowest gasoline tax rates in the
nation.A more direct $15-per-axle user fee has also been proposed. It would be
charged each year on all vehicles registered in the state.Each plan has the
benefit of establishing a separate funding mechanism for road maintenance that
would be unlikely to get involved with the rest of the state budget. But each
also carries the stigma of a tax increase.Lawmakers opposed to tax increases
would rather see the state increase road funding out of the general state
budget. That's fine, but lawmakers need to make sure it happens, not just this
year but every year so that deferred maintenance doesn't accumulate and hamper
the smooth flow of goods and people within the state.