OC Legislative Delegation discusses Roads and Buses

At the annual public meeting of the Oconee County Legislative Delegation, two topics drew most of the conversation; school buses and roads. State Senator Thomas Alexander, Chairman of the Oconee County Legislative Delegation, said help on both matters is on the way. “I appreciated the folks coming out. We listened to individuals on various subjects and also gave an update on buses and roads. Buses have been order from the funds with the veto of the governor, when it was overridden. They should be here by the end of April or the beginning of May. We have additional funding that we are working to put into the state budget for this year that we buy additional buses and trying to get on the 15 year annual rotation for all buses, so that there would be a cycle and that is what is recommended, so we are anticipating being able to move forward with that. Also on Wednesday, Department of Transportation Secretary Christy Hall gave the “State of South Carolina Department of Transportation” report to the State Senate Transportation Committee. It is my understanding that some $140 million has already been received from the two cent increase in gasoline tax. Projects are in the works throughout the state of South Carolina and as the weather warms up you’ll start to see work being done. One of the primary goals and focuses of some of the funding early on will be to improve roads that are in rural areas, such as Oconee County, that have seen fatalities. To widen and improve those roads plus additional resurfacing. So, the department also has laid out a ten year plan that is all driven by their criteria as far as the use of the road, traffic and safety. So, it sounds like we are well on the way to receiving good support for improving roads here in Oconee County and across South Carolina.” According to the South Carolina Department of Transportation, all counties will share in the money generated by the two cent increase in the state’s gasoline tax.