The first bridge in South Carolina built using a new source of money is open to traffic, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday. The bridge is on Jumping Branch Road near Blacksburg.

It’s the first bridge completed under Act 98, which state lawmakers passed last year as a new source of money for state roads and bridges. It uses some of the money from the sales tax on vehicles, which used to go to the General Fund, and some one-time new money in the budget last year. That money was then used to borrow about $1 billion over 10 years.

"It will take awhile to design and deliver all of the projects, but we hope to have between now and the end of this year perhaps 10 more bridges in the Upstate region, but over the next several years we'll deliver almost 80 bridges across the state," says Janet Oakley, secretary of transportation for the SC DOT.

That money will also be used to widen I-85 from four lanes to six, although you won’t see construction begin for a couple of years.

While the new funding will provide about $1 billion over 10 years, the SCDOT says it needs about $1.4 billion every year for 20 years to bring state roads up to “good” condition.