Unfortunately, another tragedy of major proportions is being played out every day on South Carolina highways. It is a crisis that gets little attention in the media, but one that results in the death of an average of three people in South Carolina per day or over 1,000 per year.

South Carolina has one of the highest highway fatality rates in the country. It is a condition our citizens are forced to endure because the S.C. Department of Transportation simply doesn't have the funding needed to improve the safety of our highways.

Our SCDOT maintains the fourth-largest highway system in the nation, but we are last in terms of funding for these roads. Even if South Carolina doubled its level of funding per mile of highway, we would only move one spot from our last place standing. That is how far behind we are, and this is one reason for our high fatality rate on our streets and highways.

Increasing funding for our state highways will undoubtedly save lives. We simply are not sufficiently investing in our infrastructure, and to a large extent ignoring the safety of our citizens.

The primary source of revenue to fund maintenance and improvement of our highway system is a motor fuel user fee that has not been increased since 1986. What business could possibly survive using a 17-year-old rate structure?

There is support for increased funding. Numerous organizations, including the S.C. Chamber of Commerce, have taken public positions supporting increased highway funding. Gov. Sanford's Commission on Management, Accountability and Performance found that funding for road maintenance and new construction needs to be increased. Voter surveys show that state residents will agree to fee increases for highways if the revenue is allocated strictly for highway use, and not diverted to other purposes.

We desperately need to resurface our secondary highways. The SCDOT has not been able to resurface roads in this system in four years. We also need a major program to improve the safety of our roads. And the state needs to build I-73 to the Grand Strand area to ensure the economic viability of our tourism industry.

The state highway-funding crisis will not fix itself. It is a condition that demands courage and good leadership. The S.C. Transportation Policy and Research Council is dedicated to ensuring that the state has a safe and efficient highway transportation network. A well-maintained system is vital to the safety and economic prosperity of South Carolina.

Our organization believes that the first step to improving our road system is to increase the motor fuel user fee. We have waited long enough, and too many lives hang in the balance for us to delay any longer. It is an important step that we as responsible citizens must be willing to take.

ROBERT ZUELSDORF

President

S.C. Transportation Policy

and Research Council

President and CEO

Wilbur Smith Associates

1301 Gervais St., Suite 1600

Columbia

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