We now are six months into paying the higher gas tax, and I’m not aware of any roads in our area that have been fixed or improved. I suppose there may be a few over time, but the reality is that until we reform the DOT and make it a cabinet agency, we will never get what we pay for in road taxes. What we will continue to get is more political projects and debt, just like it always has been. We cannot stop fighting for SCDOT reform because that’s the only way to fix our roads.
I agree with you. I do believe that one way is to have a complete 3 year audit showing the money coming into DOT and where the money was spent by the DOT. If we could show what happens to the tax money and get that information out to the citizens, I believe that all heck would break loose and perhaps some of our leaders would lose their jobs.
It is inevitable an entity spending money it is not required to earn via sales of a product or service, but which is forcefully confiscated, and allowed to operate with impunity will eventually succumb to fraudulent activity. This equation has been proven historically by numerous examples of autonomous governments and government bodies. The constant defiance by several powerful politicians toward a forensic SCDOT audit merely expands the feeling of distrust in an environment already consumed by skepticism. It appears certain politicians are growing rich of off the backs of hard-working South Carolina taxpayers. If I am misinformed in this matter, I feel they should be willing to step up and lay their cards on the table. Show us where our money goes!
Accountability is a must! I have been reviewing the Highway Commission meetings and attending some. All citizens and taxpayers should keep themselves informed. What I have seen is that SC 56 down in Pauline finally had some full depth patching done to eliminate the numerous potholes that were on that road. SC 215 is scheduled to have rumble strips and pavement markings upgraded. US 221 is scheduled to be resurfaced between McAbee and SC 295 (Southport Rd). US 176 (S. Pine St) is scheduled to be resurfaced also from East Main St & Country Club Rd. I would suggest that citizens check out the SCDOT website and look into the bids received and the lettings for contracts. This stuff does not happen overnight as we are fighting for dollars along with the other 45 counties in the state. SCDOT has a ranking system based on their engineering directives. Please take the time to look at what you can access via the internet. http://www.scdot.org/siteMap.aspx
By the way, Spartanburg County has 49 structurally deficient bridges and an untold number that are functionally obsolete too. I’m tired of the potholes and I would think that you are too.
It is great these projects are getting scheduled. My issue is they could have already been accomplished. Instead, they were held hostage to increase taxes; taxes that were already being abused and unaccounted for how they were being spent.
I don’t know, I have traveled to all 47 State Parks in SC without taking the Interstates and there are numerous bad Primary roads all over the state of South Carolina. What I have also seen is that some of them have been repaved since July of 2017. The SCDOT has a long way to go in a lot of counties around the state. Seems like the roads that have a higher vehicle count on a daily basis are getting done first regardless of how bad some of the roads are. Look at the Engineering Directives 62 through 72. http://info2.scdot.org/ED/Pages/engineering_directives.aspx
We will see what the future holds and how long it will take them to do the right thing.