Public-private pacts on roads are being considered in South Carolina by state officials who have realized that the 16-cent-per-gallon gas tax is no longer bringing in enough money to keep up state roads and bridges.
State revenue from the gas tax is projected to be nearly 5% less this year, which equates to about $50 million less to spend, according to Debra Rountree, the deputy secretary of finance and administration at the state Department of Transportation.
"The gas tax is dying," James Ray, the deputy administrator for the Federal Highways Administration, told state lawmakers and other members of a study committee Oct. 1.
Ray suggested the partnerships as not only a solution to an increasingly inadequate gas-tax funding system, but as a means of encouraging roadway innovation. He said the partnerships have been successful in Texas, Virginia and elsewhere.
The timetable for South Carolina calls for the study committee to release a report on its work in February. State transportation officials have asked members to explain what partnerships would be allowed under the existing state law.
Rountree said very few roadways would be eligible for a public-private partnership, but focused on a 105-mile new construction project proposed on I-73 in Horry, Dillon and Marlboro counties estimated to cost $2.4 billion.
In February a U.S. Government Accountability Office report said any possible benefits of public-private partnerships also bring new costs, risks and tradeoffs.
