Give DOT new revenue

Now that the General Assembly has approved reforms for the state Department of Transportation, the next step should be to improve the funding outlook for the agency. Otherwise the state's backlog of road and bridge maintenance will continue to get longer.

Currently, the DOT relies on the gas tax for most of its state revenue, and the tax hasn't been increased since 1989. At 16-cents per gallon, it is among the lowest in the nation.

The DOT needs a regular source of new revenue. The agency's new executive director, H.B. "Buck" Limehouse, suggests either increasing the gas tax or imposing the state's sales tax on fuel and designating the money for the DOT. In each instance, the tax would be paid by people who use the roads, about a third of whom live out of state.

Some opponents to raising the gas tax have expressed rational objections based on waste at the agency, and the willingness of its commission to endorse projects that were not considered essential, but which had political backing. A reform bill approved by the Legislature should help answer those complaints. The bill requires projects to be undertaken by priority. It also improves accountability by placing the agency's director under the governor.

The Legislative Audit Council documented millions in waste at the DOT in a report that provided the impetus for agency reform. Presumably, waste won't occur so easily following the agency's reorganization, with the director answerable to the state's chief executive.

The condition of state bridges has been highlighted by the recent collapse of a highway bridge in Minneapolis. Some 1,300 South Carolina spans are rated "structurally deficient," the same designation given the fallen bridge. The backlog on bridge work in South Carolina is estimated at $3 billion.

Meanwhile, the repaving of state roads remain far behind schedule, and the lack of maintenance will inevitably require more expensive repairs if work isn't accelerated in the short term.

DOT reform has been viewed by fiscal watchdogs as a prerequisite for providing the agency with new revenue. The bill approved by the Legislature last session achieved important reforms, and the department is now led by an executive who has the confidence of the governor and the Legislature. Needed funding for long-standing road and bridge needs should be the next step.