York County wants to divert $64M for one I-77 traffic headache to another problem site
As road construction prices soar, York County wants to reroute funds from the busiest traffic spot in South Carolina to help in the most congested part of Rock Hill.
The county asked the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank to take road upgrade funds from the Carowinds Boulevard interchange on Interstate 77 and move them to the Exit 82 interchange. That’s where Cherry and Celanese roads meet the interstate in Rock Hill.
The state infrastructure bank is a public financing agency that tackles some of the largest transportation projects in South Carolina. The infrastructure bank has $64 million tied into the Carowinds Boulevard project.
“Having this additional funding and allowing that transfer of funding is critical to that (Exit 82) project getting done,” said York County Council chairwoman Christi Cox.
The interstate averages more than 170,000 vehicle trips per day where it crosses Carowinds Boulevard. That’s the highest traffic count in the state.
The interstate between Cherry and Celanese roads averages less than half those vehicles, but transportation leaders see that area as a safety concern with the coming together of several major roads. Celriver and Riverview roads also arrive at the interstate there.
Area road experts say both interchange upgrades, with widening or traffic reconfiguration, are at risk of extensive delays without a funding change.
Moving money from Fort Mill to Rock Hill would put off the Carowinds work indefinitely. But, it could bring Exit 82 to completion.
What is infrastructure bank money?
Since 1997, the infrastructure bank has pumped about $6 billion into road and infrastructure jobs.
York County submitted funding applications in 2016 and 2019 for interchange work at Exit 90 (Carowinds Boulevard), Exit 85 (Baxter and Kingsley area of Fort Mill) and Exit 82. The state bank announced about $75 million for Exit 85 and Exit 82 in 2020.
Two years later, York County reapplied with an $85.8 million plan for Exit 90 that included $63.4 million from the bank. York County would pay the rest.
The infrastructure bank approved that money in mid-2022. The Exit 85 work in Fort Mill is ongoing.
Planners with the South Carolina Department of Transportation are still working on new road configurations at Exit 82. Design plans aren’t that far along for the Carowinds Boulevard exit.
Road costs continue to increase
Early last year, area road planners learned the Exit 85 improvements in Fort Mill would cost more than $115 million.
It was the second time in less than two years the project had jumped by $20 million or more. Four months ago, a state transportation department update put the job somewhere between $90 million and $200 million, depending on the new traffic configuration.
Construction started this year and isn’t expected to finish until late 2027.
Cost increases come from material cost and worker pay increases since the COVID pandemic, area road experts say. There’s also the influx of public road funding that followed the pandemic, a limited number of contractors who can take on large jobs and overall inflation costs across the economy.
Pennies for Progress, the one-cent sale tax program for roads that’s on the ballot again this fall in York County, has more than half of its $410 million campaign dedicated to unfinished road jobs from prior referendum votes.
A $405 million transportation tax vote in Lancaster County includes includes $35 million for items like land purchase, matching funds and inflation.
Large road jobs take years or even decades from when they’re first planned to completion, which can make funding projections a challenge.
“Project increases are not a surprise to us, unfortunately, after the fact,” said David Hooper, administrator with the Rock Hill-Fort Mill Area Transportation Study that allocates federal transportation money in the region.
Costs across all major projects have risen significantly the past couple of years, he said. Without an alignment picked it’s unclear what costs will be for Exit 82 in Rock Hill, but Hooper expects similar cost creep ups similar to Exit 85.
“That’s still an evolving picture as well,” Hooper said.
York County asks for funding help
Cox asked Hooper’s area transportation study group for help making the money switch case.
The transportation group’s policy committee is made up of mayors, council members and other public officials from across the Rock Hill region. That group agreed on Friday to send a letter to the state infrastructure bank and state transportation department supporting York County.
The York County projects were some of many approved across the state in recent years. Many of them are facing similar funding shortfalls.
“A lot of folks are asking for that additional funding,” Cox said. “And it’s unlikely from what we’re hearing that it’s going to be there.”
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
