Gas Tax Watch

The state has spent $1.3 million in gas taxes on Lexington County roads.

The county is one of 28 counties with less than 25% of the value of paving projects completed by Sept. 30 with gas-tax-hike revenue.

As of June 30, 2019, the department had $1 billion in other fund reserves.

But DOT continues to sit on hundreds of millions in gas-tax-hike money.

Through Sept. 30, $875 million had been collected under the law, which raised the state gas tax 12 cents a gallon over 6 years and increased other vehicle taxes.

More than half of the revenue – $454.1 million – had not been spent as of that date, according to DOT.

Of $349.6 million in vendor payments over 27 months, broken down by county, more than a third – $126 million – was spent mainly for “preservation” and “safety improvement.”

No vendor payments were made for road reconstruction projects in 16 counties.

In another 11 counties, less than 10% of all vendor payments were for reconstruction projects.

Despite lawmakers’ promises to repair bad roads and bridges, DOT has designated $246 million in gas-tax-hike revenues, or nearly a quarter of $1.1 billion in project “commitments,” for interstate widenings.

Brundrett is news editor of The Nerve. Contact him at 803-254-4411 or rick@thenerve.org .