I-77 and Gold Hill Road needs work. How York County will pay for the Fort Mill exit.

Improvements at the I-77 and Gold Hill Road interchange are a step closer.

York County Council approved a funding agreement Monday night with the South Carolina Department of Transportation for the new diverging diamond traffic pattern. Current plans are to put out construction bids in March, open them in April and have construction start in June of 2018.

“That’s the anticipation right now,” said Patrick Hamilton, Pennies for Progress manager for York County.

The total project should be about $12.3 million. Almost $2.5 million will come from federal sources. Pennies for Progress, the county 1-cent sales tax program to fund road projects, has to come up with almost $9.9 million.

Most of that money was allocated from the last Pennies referendum, in 2011. Yet more right-of-way needs acquiring. The Pennies portion is about $440,000 short, so council approved a $450,000 transfer from the S.C. 72 project also from the 2011 Pennies list.

Councilman William “Bump” Roddey said roads in his district typically bring up the rear of the line when it comes to Pennies, and missed cost estimates often bump them to the next campaign. As happened with S.C. 72, which is part of $60 million in carryover projects from the 2011 vote to Pennies 4, which voters get to decide on Nov. 7.

“Is there not a better way we can fund the Gold Hill project besides robbing from the (S.C.) 72 Pennies project?” he asked council Monday night.

Hamilton said it shouldn’t be a surprise, even to Pennies voters, that money from the last campaign would swap projects heading into Pennies 4.

“We were expecting to pull this money the whole time,” he said.

At least since the Pennies 4 list made the upcoming ballot. Because S.C. 72 would be funded in November, the funds from the 2011 vote wouldn’t be needed.

“We can only spend money on Pennies projects from monies on each referendum,” Hamilton said. “We have the money allocated from Pennies 4 to cover Hwy. 72 and four other projects. That’s already been factored in.”

Assuming, of course, public support in November.

“The problem is, if it doesn’t pass,” said council Chairman Britt Blackwell.

Pennies support has grown steadily through three campaigns, since the first one in 1997. The “yes” vote percentage increased each time. Other counties followed York County’s lead in creating similar tax programs since.

There also have been growing pains with Pennies, as cost overruns and missed deadlines frustrated many when projects either weren’t done or were pushed to a later campaign. The S.C. 72 project budget from 2011 was $12 million, and now it’s expected to cost $21 million. Though it has an expanded scope and more lanes now than first thought.

Hamilton said Roddey needn’t worry S.C. 72 could get pushed down the road again. Nor anyone else waiting on a Pennies 3 carryover project.

“On Pennies 4, the carryover projects are the No. 1 priority project,” Hamilton said.

Other carryovers include S.C. 557 widening to five lanes from Kingsburry Road to S.C. 49 in Lake Wylie, and S.C. 160 widening to three lanes from Springfield Parkway to the county line in Fort Mill.

In all, Pennies 4 projects would cost an estimated $277.92 million. The cent sales tax would be charged seven years.

This story was originally published October 18, 2017 at 2:20 PM with the headline "I-77 and Gold Hill Road needs work. How York County will pay for the Fort Mill exit.."