SCDOT Receives Additional Federal Funding

Extra federal dollars will assist road resurfacing and bridge replacement projects

COLUMBIA, SC – September 19, 2008 – The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has announced a plan that will move some highway resurfacing and bridge replacement projects forward due to $21.56 million in additional federal funding for Fiscal Year 2008. The announcement was made at the SCDOT Commission meeting held in Columbia on September 18, 2008.

These funds became available to SCDOT earlier this month. Each year in late August or September the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) adjusts funding levels for each state based on the actual revenues coming into the Federal Highway Trust Fund. The annual calculation of this adjustment is known as the “revenue aligned budget authority” (RABA). RABA is intended to ensure that funding for highway programs tracks closely with actual and anticipated revenues going into the Highway Trust Fund.

All of the projects that will benefit from these federal funds have already met the criteria on the priority list and had been previously approved by the SCDOT Commission. Now that funding is available, work can move forward later this fall. The funds will first be used for 27 road resurfacing projects in nine counties.  (See list attached)

“These additional federal funds will be put to good use by the SC Department of Transportation,” said Commissioner Henry H. Taylor, 2nd Congressional District. “This is good news for the 2nd Congressional District and the state of South Carolina.

In further action at the meeting, the SCDOT Commission gave its approval to allow SCDOT staff to use the remainder of the additional federal money to fund a portion of a package of 19 off-system bridge replacement projects in seven counties.

Transportation Secretary H.B. Limehouse Jr. said that funding for these projects will help others move up on the priority list. “Our engineers are always prepared to get projects to construction as soon as we have the funding to get started,” said Limehouse. The more funding we have, the faster other projects can move up on the priority list, which brings them closer to reality,” Limehouse added.

The $21.56 million in federal funds received by SCDOT will require 20% state matching dollars. This means that the total funding package for these projects is $26.95 million.

For more information go to: http://www.scdot.org/