SCDOT Unveils Road Safety Program

Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall presented a plan to begin a reduction in the high death toll on South Carolina’s roads should new funds become available. The presentation was made at the monthly meeting of the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Commission meeting held Thursday, January 19 in Columbia.

Hall told Commissioners that improving safety on roads in the rural areas of the state should be the top priority for any new funding. She said, “South Carolina has the deadliest roads in the nation. Nearly 30% of our rural fatal and serious injury crashes take place on just 5% of our highway system outside of our urban areas.”  Hall noted that “Our Interstate highways and US primary routes in our rural areas are the deadliest roads in the state.”

The Secretary suggested that $50 million per year would be a good start in reducing highway deaths on these roads in the rural areas. Hall proposes targeting nearly 2,000 miles (1,957) of these roads with solutions tailored for those particular corridors. Those solutions include rumble strips, raised pavement markings, high reflective signs, wider pavement markings, guardrail, specialized pavement treatments, wider shoulders, paved shoulders, wider clear zones adjacent to the roadways and relocating drainage ditches further away from roadways.

Hall added that improving safety on roads in our rural communities, and all highways, will require everyone’s cooperation, including state and local law enforcement and drivers as well. “If all of us work together and do our part, we can make South Carolina’s roads safer, “Hall said.