COLUMBIA - An S.C. trucking official is criticizing an idea by Gov. Mark Sanford to get truckers to put pressure on the S.C. Transportation Department to widen a dangerous stretch of highway.

Last week, Sanford and other officials were discussing ways to make the department board change its mind about widening U.S. 17 in Beaufort and Colleton counties.

The 22-mile stretch of road has been the site of many fatal accidents in recent years.

Sanford suggested putting up temporary weigh stations that would back up truck traffic as a way to get truckers on board with the widening plan that the agency has delayed because it hasn't got enough money.

"It sounds like something that just came off the top of somebody's head," said Rick Todd, president of the S.C. Trucking Association. "Transport police will tell you that when they open a weigh or inspection facility, if it begins to back up traffic, it becomes a real safety hazard, so they shut it down.

"You don't back up truck traffic on a road just to await an inspection. That's unsafe and probably some sort of violation of Federal Highway Administration guidelines."

Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said the governor's idea was hypothetical and illustrates the fact that the governor has no oversight over the transportation department and might look at other ways to put pressure on the agency.

"We would certainly be open to ways of getting DOT to finish this project," Sawyer said. "If that's the only way we can do it, we would consider it. But they were just discussing hypothetical scenarios."

The agency board, which previously approved the widening project, decided last week to go ahead only with right-of-way purchases and some safety improvements. The board said finances were the reason for the delay.