County officials oppose idea of road transfers

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The chairman of the House committee crafting a proposal to fund road and bridge work in South Carolina says the state first needs to decrease the size of the system.

The state highway system of 41,400 miles is the nation’s fourth largest, largely due to a vast number of short, secondary roads not eligible for federal funding.

Rep. Gary Simrill says some of those roads need to be turned over to local governments. The Rock Hill Republican suggests providing counties more money to pay for it.

But Robert Croom with the South Carolina Association of Counties told Simrill’s committee Tuesday counties oppose any road transfer effort. He says history shows the Legislature doesn’t follow through with promised funding, and counties lack the money to take on more miles to maintain.