The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) recently received notice that it will receive access to an additional $190 million of federal funding from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) for the coming year for road projects in the state.
The additional $190 million just announced is federal road funds that other states and federal programs were not able to use during that past year. SCDOT was prepared to take on the funding because it has qualified projects already planned and has state funds in place to match this federal funding. USDOT redistributes funds in this manner each August to states that can put money to work.
The $190 million August redistribution is a record amount for SCDOT. Historically, SCDOT has received approximately a third of this amount. Due to continuous planning and SCDOT’s robust project pipeline enabled by the General Assembly in its 2017 Roads Bill, South Carolina was well positioned to maximize funds available.
The $190 million in additional federal funding will also require 20 percent in state matching funds. Fortunately, in the FY 2023 state budget, the General Assembly provided SCDOT with $120 million in recurring match money in order to position the SCDOT to go after these additional federal funds as well as to fully draw down all other increased federal highway funds available to South Carolina.
South Carolina Secretary of Transportation Christy A. Hall said: “Thanks to the vision and leadership of Governor McMaster and the South Carolina General Assembly and their continued investment in our state infrastructure, our agency was well positioned to draw down and match even more road and bridge money for South Carolina. We will deploy these funds to prioritized interstate, bridge and safety projects that are already underway, or about to be underway, within the 10-Year Plan.”
SCDOT Commission Chairman David E. “Gene” Branham Sr. said: “We applaud the South Carolina General Assembly for providing the matching funds that enabled SCDOT to pursue this opportunity to bring more funding back to South Carolina. South Carolina’s road and bridge construction program will receive a boost thanks to their leadership.”
More information about current projects and progress on the 10-year Plan is available at www.scdot.org.
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