MARION – This week’s Good Questions came from Patricia Williams in Marion. She’s wondering about the roads and bridges that many of you drive on each and every day.
Her first question was, "When existing highways have to be widened, etc to accommodate new developments, who foots the bill....the developers or the taxpayers through DOT?"
If it’s specifically in response to a development or a store going up, then the developer pays for it. They would have to make an “encroachment permit” request with the Dept. of Transportation to widen the road, add a turn lane, etc.
But, if the road for an increasingly busy intersection needs widening, but it is not in relation to any particular store or development, then that is paid for by the DOT.
Her second question is about the bridges in the area. She wanted to know how two on Highway 76 rate.
To answer this, we need to explain the rating scale she is referring to. Each bridge has a “Sufficiency Rating” score, which ranges from zero to 100. It is based off of the bridge’s overall safety, the width of the lanes, detours that are available if the bridge is closed, and a number of other variables.
The SR number is used, among other things, to determine which bridges need repairing or replacing. The lower the number, the worse off the bridge is.
Both bridges that Patricia asked about rank at 60.5%. This is below the state’s average SR, which is 78.5%, but the bridges are still considered safe.
A bridge is only eligible for federal funds if its SR is 50% or less. To read more about SR numbers and how they are calculated, click here.
For a list of bridge projects actively going on or being planned for in South Carolina, click here.
To create a road work maintenance request with the SC DOT, click here.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement