The South Carolina Department of Transportation revealed in a report released August 21 that the state is facing a $42.82 billion transportation funding gap over the next 25 years.
The report found that South Carolina will need $70.45 billion in order to meet the state’s transportation needs through the year 2040. Current revenue sources will only generate $27.63 billion during that time, or $1.11 billion per year. South Carolina must find almost $1.5 billion more annually in order to maintain and improve the state’s transportation infrastructure.
Representative Brian White (R-Anderson), chairman of South Carolina’s House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, is working with House Speaker Bobby Harrell (R- Charleston) to form a legislative panel that will develop suggestions for addressing the state’s transportation funding gap before the General Assembly convenes in January.
When asked what options the panel will consider, including a possible increase in the state’s 16-cent-per-gallon gas tax, White stated, “Everything is on the table.”
To read the South Carolina Department of Transportation’s Report “Charting a Course to 2040”, visit http://www.dot.state.sc.us/Multimodal/default.aspx.