The Nerve

By RICK BRUNDRETT When in session, S.C. lawmakers routinely introduce legislation dedicating an existing road section, bridge or intersection to a living or deceased person – including ex-legislators. Their road- and bridge-naming proposals are made through concurrent resolutions, which unlike general bills, can’t be reviewed by the governor. Since 2017, legislators have approved 57 such […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT In the first two years of the gas-tax-hike law, the state collected enough money to pay for three-quarters of the identified $1 billion in road and bridge projects, yet the S.C. Department of Transportation completed or “substantially” completed just 8% of the total projected tab, newly released DOT records show. As of […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT The S.C. Department of Transportation wants to fix the state’s bad roads and bridges over a 10-year period, but it might not hit that target at the rate projects are being completed, a review by The Nerve found. From July 1, 2017, when the gas-tax-hike law took effect, through April of this […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT Last fiscal year, the S.C. Department of Transportation estimated it filled more than 37,000 potholes in small, rural Kershaw County – the biggest number among the state’s 46 counties. In comparison, the pothole total was more than three times DOT’s projected number of patched potholes in Greenville County – the state’s most-populous […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT Less than 4% of the nearly $1 billion in road and bridge projects in South Carolina identified by the state Department of Transportation was completed in the first 20 months of the gas-tax-hike law, newly released DOT records show. Lawmakers promised that the law, which raised the gas tax 12 cents per […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT State Department of Transportation work crews patched about 43,000 potholes statewide from Jan. 10 to Feb. 3 during the agency’s heavily promoted “Pothole Blitz,” DOT head Christy Hall proudly reported last week. “So a significant amount of work was done by our team,” Hall told DOT commissioners during Thursday’s commission meeting, adding, […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT The state transportation department plans to spend well more than a third of gas-tax-hike revenues on widening and repaving interstates instead of using those funds to repair crumbling community roads and bridges – as promised by lawmakers – according to an agency document obtained by The Nerve. In a PowerPoint presentation to […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT S.C. Department of Transportation chief Christy Hall was in a bragging mood at last month’s DOT Commission meeting, announcing that the agency had won three “President’s Transportation Awards” from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. “I’m proud to announce that once again – once again – the South Carolina […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT Nearly nine months after the state law took effect hiking the gasoline tax and other taxes and fees – purportedly to fix South Carolina’s crumbling roads – the authorized money has yet to be spent, though more than $131 million has been collected. At least that’s what online records from Comptroller General […]

By RICK BRUNDRETT Update: According to a written plea agreement dated 1/22/19, John Hardee agreed to plead guilty to one federal count of evidence tampering. Neither the count specified in the charging document, known as an “information,” nor the plea agreement provided any details about the alleged crime. The charge carries a maximum sentence of […]