The Department of Transportation director is urging legislators to spend money on South Carolina's crumbling primary highways, rather than send the money to the counties.
Secretary Christy Hall said in a letter to House members that the state's major, non-interstate highways are in a "state of crisis," with 80 percent of pavements statewide in disrepair. Hall says the lack of funding means those highly traveled roads are on a 24-year paving cycle.
The budget being debated in the House this week is expected to include about $400 million for roads. But the proposal sends $185 million of that to counties to fix less-traveled, secondary roads that don't qualify for federal matches.
The total includes $49 million for work already done, as it covers emergency road repairs after last October's floods.