First new roads bill funds received by SCDOT

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has received its first influx of new revenues from the Roads Bill passed by the General Assembly earlier this year. The $4.8 Million deposit into the Infrastructure Maintenance Trust Fund will be used to support projects previously identified by the agency to support the “Fix it First” approach of improving South Carolina’s existing highways and bridges.

The new revenue has been generated through the vehicle maintenance fee and other vehicle-related fees, not from the 2-cent gas tax increase that went into effect July 1.  SCDOT typically receives state gas tax revenues 30-45 days in arrears.  Therefore, SCDOT anticipates receiving deposits into the Trust Fund from the new gas tax revenues in September. “As funding begins to trickle in over time, we will ramp up the number of road projects all across the state.  We are forecasting that the first year of the Roads Bill will generate $149 Million which will enable us to begin our Rural Road Safety Program and increase our Resurfacing Program,” said Christy Hall, Secretary of Transportation.

In an effort to continue to improve transparency and accountability, account balances and activity related to the Infrastructure Maintenance Trust Fund will be posted monthly on the agency’s website at www.scdot.org.  The agency is also working with the Comptroller General to provide additional details on the expenditures related to the Infrastructure Maintenance Trust Fund account.