The S.C. Department of Transportation is doing a lot of things right, according to a new national comparison prepared by a North Carolina professor.

The independent review of the department ordered last week by the Department of Transportation Commission may want to look at the work done by professor David Hartgen for the conservative John Locke Foundation in Raleigh, N.C., at http://www.johnlocke.org/.

For 14 years, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte professor has ranked efficiency in highway spending. South Carolina ranks third. Indicators include the state's revenues, expenditures, pavement and bridge conditions, urban congestion, accident rates and narrow lanes on major rural roads.

But the report also shows some troubling signs for South Carolina highways, which will make it harder to meet public needs just as growth raises the demand.

For starters, South Carolina has an inordinate amount of roads and bridges to keep up with. South Carolina has the fifth largest state-maintained highway system in America with 41,666 miles of roads. By comparison, Hawaii has the smallest system at 983 miles and Texas has the largest at 79,517 miles. But in most states, counties bear a much larger transportation burden.

And then comes the old news, but bad news: South Carolina is shirking its responsibility. The state is not allocating enough money to build and maintain roads and bridges.

In 2003, the most recent year included in the study, South Carolina ranked lowest in the nation in receipts for state-administered highway. Receipts ranged from a low of $21,839 per mile in South Carolina to a high of $1.9 million in New Jersey.

South Carolina also trails the nation in capital and bridge disbursements, with $15,087 per mile while the national average is $60,810.

And in total disbursements -- which also includes money for maintenance and administration -- South Carolina trails the nation. It gets $26,845 per mile, with the average at $112,945.

Those are not promising trends.

A new review of the state DOT can do no harm. We'd love to see something done to avoid future pitfalls like the contract awarded for the S.C. 170 job in Beaufort County.

But the bigger picture also demands a closer look at why the state is so far behind in funding its large highway system.