In most other states, a governor's opposition to a proposed interstate project would be fatal. But S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford's opposition to the much-discussed Interstate 73 spur between Georgetown and Interstate 26 near Charleston means virtually nothing. The governor has no real control over the agency that, with federal help, would build the highway: the S.C. Department of Transportation.

That agency, conspicuously missing from Sanford's pending proposal to reorganize S.C. government, is controlled by the seven-member S.C. Department of Transportation Commission. Six members are legislatively appointed, with the governor nominating the seventh, who serves as chairman.

That weakness may be why Bob Harrell, the S.C. coastal transportation commissioner, felt emboldened to dismiss Sanford's opposition to the Georgetown-Charleston spur, a carryover from Sanford's terms as the S.C. 1st District congressman. Harrell said the discussions will continue. That's fine with us.

The spur would abet economic development in Georgetown County. It also would allow Grand Strand tourism to tap more deeply into the Atlanta market.

But a government system that allows a mere appointive highway commissioner to treat the elected chief executive in such cavalier fashion is not healthy. Where's the accountability?