Gov. Henry McMaster asks lawmakers to use $500M for state bridges

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — More than 500 bridges in the state are deteriorating, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said Friday.

To try and fix the issue, he is asking lawmakers to give the State Department of Transportation half a billion dollars.

"There's no more infrastructure more in need of investment than our state's roads and bridges, highways and interstates," McMaster said.

Governor McMaster recommends reallocating $500 million in surplus property tax funds to the South Carolina Department of Transportation.

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"The 2023 South Carolina Department of Transportation Annual Accountability Report highlights the need for additional resources to repair and rebuild nearly 9000 bridges on primary and secondary roads across our state," McMaster said.

Twenty-one bridges in the Lowcountry are classified as structurally deficient, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders' Association.

Some of those include the US 17 Northbound over the Ashley River in Charleston County, the bridge over Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant and Highway 52 over the Cooper River in Berkeley County.

"Many of these bridges were 60 or 70, sometimes 80 years old," McMaster said. "Some of them are older, now some of them over 90."

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Governor McMaster said it's a race against time, as bridges need to be in good condition to serve our state's growing population.

"Too many have been closed, while others are in such a state of disrepair that the required restrictions render them useless for commercial trucking, school buses, or fire trucks needed to serve our state’s increasing population," McMaster said.

Right now, there is no timeline on when this would be discussed in the legislature, but the governor wants this done as soon as possible.