YOUR TAXES AT WORK

State officials plan to spend more than 1/3rd of your gas tax hike to widen and repave interstates.

Lawmakers had promised the millions of dollars would repair the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.

A bill introduced by state Sen. Nikki Setzler, D-West Columbia, would divert part of the gas tax money to widening interstates.

The Chronicle has asked the senator to share his thinking about the bill.

In a presentation at the SC Asphalt Pavement Association’s conference a year ago – nearly 7 months after the hike began – DOT projected:

• $800 million will be spent by 2027, about $600 million in the gas tax hike.

• Of the $800 million, $276 million, or 34.5%, will go to interstate widening.

• Just over $400 million will be for resurfacing but much of it on interstates.

DOT said by 2026, 92% of interstates will be in “good” condition with resurfacing up from 65% in 2016.

Little has been spent from the nearly $505.7 million collected so far.

About $63.7 million, less than 13%, went to local road or bridge repair.

In the first 18 months of the hike, about $15 million, nearly 25%, of $61.4 million paid to road contractors went for preservation, only $1.3 million to road repairs.

DOT said 80% of 42,000 miles of state roads need to be resurfaced or rebuilt and 465 of 750 structurally deficient bridges to be replaced.

Neither DOT director Christy Hall nor Ashley Bat-son of the Asphalt Pavement Association responded to requests for comment.

Brundrett is news editor of The Nerve. Call him at 803-254-4411.