Clyburn, Sanford go another round in bridge dispute

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Clyburn has championed the project, saying it would bring economic development to a poor, rural area around Lake Marion and would thereby improve the local school system.

Sanford, who opposes the project, told The Greenville News Thursday that part of the area around the bridge site has "very serious limitations" to economic development because it is bordered by a bombing range, a state forest and a hazardous waste dump.

"This is not as if it's a pristine area ripe for development," he said. "You have the Pinewood dump on one side, you have state forest lands and a bombing range. If you're really about maximizing economic development, there are other things that can be done with this same money in that congressional district that would have a greater consequence."

Sanford earlier this week invited Clyburn and the state Department of Transportation Commission on a kayaking tour of Sparkleberry Swamp, an area Sanford called a "pristine natural area" that he contends would be destroyed by the bridge project. Clyburn rejected the invitation as a "gimmick."

Clyburn questioned Sanford's economic development vision for the region and Sanford's $100 million cost estimate.

The project, called the Briggs-DeLaine-Pearson Connector, would link the rural communities of Rimini in Clarendon County with Lone Star in Calhoun County using a three-mile-long bridge over the Santee River. Clyburn said the area could be developed as a tourist draw or a golf destination if the proper infrastructure was installed.

"What we have here is the governor's vision, which seems to be create as fast a route for his friends and neighbors that go through these communities," he said.

"My vision is to create reasons for people to spend time and money in these communities so that we can expand the tax base."

Clyburn said the region has sites of interest to Revolutionary War and Civil War history, as well as Native American Indian sites.

"There's nothing over there to keep us from creating hunting lodges and fishing camps, developing conference and retreat centers, all along Highway 120 and 33," he said.

On Wednesday, Clyburn accused Sanford of being "out of touch with reality" because of his opposition to the project. He said while others have suggested the money could be spent on other things in his district, its use is limited, saying that if it wasn't spent on the bridge project, it would be spent on a bridge elsewhere.

Sanford on Thursday said the money could be used for any transportation project in the sixth congressional district.

"He can put this money elsewhere in his district and have more economic development as a consequence," he said, suggesting repairs to Interstate 95 or the Highway 601 bridge as examples.

Clyburn said he has no intention of directing the money elsewhere because he believes the bridge project is needed.

He also questioned Sanford's use of $100 million in connection with the project, saying that the highest number he has heard is $79 million and that number could be lowered.

Sanford, whose staff has said the estimate has come from transportation officials, said he would love to work on economic development projects with Clyburn in his district. He said his opposition to the project has nothing to do with politics.

"This isn't because he's a Democrat," Sanford said of Clyburn. "If (GOP Congressman) Joe Wilson proposed building the bridge I'd be raising the same objections."

The DOT board voted last week to accept $2.5 million in funding for the project, with some commissioners saying they were undecided about the project and just want to get more information on its total cost.