Travis Brown, director of public works for Spartanburg County, told Spartanburg City Council on Oct. 27 that the county’s new six‑year “capital penny” program has begun and will drive a large increase in local road projects, including about $9.8 million earmarked for the city over the life of the program.

Brown said the capital penny took effect in May 2024 and that the county groups projects by tiers that correspond to years: “right now, we’re in year 1… so this would be tier 1 projects. 2026 will be tier 2 projects. 2027 will be tier 3 projects,” he said. He listed resurfacing and corridor reconstructions already completed or under way and said several larger projects will be bid in coming years.

Why it matters: the penny-funded work is intended to double the pace of routine resurfacing on city‑owned neighborhood streets while also funding larger corridor reconstructions, intersection improvements and spot safety measures countywide. Brown and council members emphasized coordination with SCDOT and with county pavement and CTC (county transportation committee) programs to maximize available state and federal dollars.

Most immediate projects and funding mentioned: Brown said Highway 290 resurfacing (from Reeville Road to North Daniel Morgan), West Main Street and Saint John Street are complete; Reebel Road (from 290 to East Blackstock Road) has been awarded to Rogers Group and was described as a multi‑million dollar contract. He reported about $15 million in county paving projects now under construction and roughly $20 million programmed for tier‑1 county paving next year, with plans that include about 12 miles of subdivision roads and 11 miles of county through roads. The county’s municipal program was described as having approximately $4–5 million in projects for next year, covering towns including Landrum, Campobello, Inman and the city of Spartanburg.

Safety and grants: Brown summarized a county safety action plan that mapped crash data and identified a “Heinrich network” of corridors with elevated rates of fatal and severe injury crashes. He said the county council adopted a Vision Zero goal of zero roadway fatalities by 2040 and that the county was awarded a USDOT grant described in the meeting as $20 million total, with $16 million federal and $4 million local match; Asheville Highway and North Pine Street were named as the two “headline” projects tied to that award. Brown said the county was still finalizing the grant agreement with DOT.

Workforce and delivery capacity: Brown said the county is partnering with Spartanburg Community College and industry to expand construction workforce capacity. The community college offers accelerated Class A and Class B commercial driver’s license training, heavy‑equipment operator certification, foreman and superintendent programs, and grant funds known as SC Wins were cited as a source of tuition support. Brown said the county’s workforce goal includes creating 100 internships by 2026 and placing 50 high‑school students into construction careers over two years; last year a scholarship program distributed about $16,000 and the county aims to double that this year.

Funding streams and program notes: Brown explained the CTC program is drawn from state gas tax receipts (he said Spartanburg County receives about $7 million yearly for the program) and is separate from the capital penny and from federally funded SPATS projects. He described county corridor reconstruction work as full rebuilds (purchasing right of way, moving utilities) that expand typical 16–17 foot farm‑to‑market roads to 24 feet.

Council questions and next steps: Council members asked about Union Street timing and pedestrian improvements; Brown clarified Union Street paving is managed by SCDOT, not the capital penny. He also said the county plans a public dashboard to track crash data and project status and encouraged continued coordination with the city and DOT. Brown noted some inflation will reduce the effective mileage covered by doubled resurfacing dollars but said the county has programmed the funds to accelerate maintenance where possible.

Ending: Council members praised the interjurisdictional coordination and encouraged overt public communications about project timing and traffic impacts. Brown closed by offering to provide follow‑up detail on specific corridors when asked.