By Stan Welch
The Anderson County Transportation Committee (ACTC) held its quarterly meeting Tuesday, but delayed any action on the requests it has received. Among those requests were three from the Town of Williamston.
They include resurfacing requests for a two hundred eleven foot section of Black Street off of Tripp Street; a six hundred seventy foot section of Harbison Drive off of Mill Street; and a thirty foot section of Lee Street off of Black Street. No action is likely on those requests until the spring of next year.
The committee heard a status report from Transco, the consulting firm that essentially implements the projects approved by the Committee. They were informed that they currently have a bit more than eleven million dollars in the bank for future use; the lion’s share of that money is earmarked for use in paving county roads only. The bill that allocated those funds, House bill 4230, limits the use of those funds.
The committee also heard a report on a project that was approved in 2013, and has been languishing with the SCDOT ever since. The project involves the installation of a turn lane in front of the Am-Can Trucking facility. Political opposition and the fact that the project turned out to require the purchase of several rights of way contributed to the delays. During those delays, the cost of the project skyrocketed. Originally funded by the committee at one hundred ninety two thousand dollars, the project is now estimated at three quarters of a million dollars.
The Committee, after some discussion, voted to terminate the project, and petition for the return of their funds including the fifty two thousand dollars that DOT engineers spent in designing the original project.
Members of the Committee will be appointed or reappointed by the county legislative delegation at the delegation’s annual December meeting. Rep. Anne Thayer is on the committee and Senator Mike Gambrell is the ex officio member.
