S.C. DOT reports massive storm cleanup, $7B I‑526 estimate and growing funding gap

South Carolina Department of Transportation leaders told the Senate Transportation Committee that the agency has led the state’s largest debris cleanup mission in decades, has opened or started hundreds of bridge and interstate projects and is pressing the General Assembly for new funding approaches to keep its 10‑year plan on track.

The SCDOT presentation, delivered to the committee by the department’s secretary, outlined the recent storm response, current project pipeline and longer-term financial challenges tied to inflation, changing vehicle fleets and rapid population growth.

The secretary said SCDOT and contractors have collected more than 5,000,000 cubic yards of debris since October — “enough debris to fill up the Empire State Building 3 and a half times” — and that storm damages so far include roughly $23 million from Tropical Storm Debbie, $76 million from Hurricane Helene and $21 million from November floods. He said about 85% of Helene-related repairs are complete and the department expects to finish all repairs by year-end while awaiting federal reimbursements through the Federal Highway Administration and FEMA.

The presentation stressed that South Carolina’s highway investment program has expanded since the General Assembly enacted the 2017 roads law known as Act 40, which unleashed billions for road work. The secretary said work under that program has grown from about $2.7 billion of work in 2017 to more than $6.5 billion ongoing today and that the state will soon top $7 billion in active projects…