YOUR TAXES AT WORK

Fixing Malfunction Junction will cost the taxpayers another $240 million.

The SC Transportation Department plans to buy a Motel 6, gas stations, homes, apartment buildings and other properties near the county line.

It will cost $240 million more for land in its decade-long, $1.6 billion project, the largest highway investment in state history.

DOT needs at least part of 64 businesses, 18 owner-occupied homes and about 80 rental properties, said Chris Johnston, DOT assistant director of right-of-way.

Those numbers could shift over 3 years of acquisition as people move, he said.

To avoid the negative Malfunction Junction nickname, DOT has renamed it Carolina Crossroads.

It includes a massive new interchange where Interstates 26, 20 and 126 connect with more lanes to ease merging and rebuilt ramps.

The project is expected to begin construction in 2021 to ease traffic congestion.

If the state cannot agree on a price with property owners, it can use its power of eminent domain to force a sale, the Charleston Post and Courier reported.

Property owners can seek changes to the highway plans and even receive more compensation through negotiation and the courts.

DOT already has begun contacting property owners.

DOT aims to meet with every property owner and explain the process.

In some cases DOT may need only a sliver of the property. In others, it will be buying the whole site.

It has contacted some property owners already and in some cases a third-party appraisal of the property value has started.