Additional 446 Miles of Safety Improvements approved for SC

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Commission has approved the second phase of the Rural Roads Safety Program with an additional 446 miles of safety improvements planned across the state. “South Carolina’s fatality rate is the highest in the nation, and this program is attacking that problem mile by mile,” said Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall. “SCDOT is targeting the ‘worst of the worst’ roads in our state with our Rural Roads Safety Program.” In Year 1 of the 10-year plan, SCDOT already awarded contracts totaling 187 miles of safety improvements, well ahead of projections. SCDOT has another 276 miles in phase 1 currently under development. The Commission’s recent approval for phase 2 includes the start of an additional 446 miles of safety improvements across South Carolina. This constitutes a total of 909 miles in projects approved for development. “We are looking to keep the momentum going as we work together to make South Carolina roads safer,” Hall said. Hall said nearly 30% of the rural fatal and serious injury crashes are occurring on just over 5%, or approximately 1,900 miles, of SCDOT’s road network of more than 41,000 miles. The types of improvements in SCDOT’s Rural Roads Safety Program vary and will be designed specifically for each road. They include rumble strips, wider and brighter pavement markings, brighter signs, high-friction surface treatments, wider/paved shoulders, improved clear zones, guardrails, cable barriers, eliminating vertical drop-offs along pavement edges and beveling of driveway pipes. The Rural Roads Safety Program is one of four SCDOT priorities in the agency’s 10-Year Plan. The other three priorities are: replacing Structurally Deficient Bridges, Road Resurfacing and Interstate Widenings. For more information on the Rural Roads Safety Program, visit www.scdot.org.