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South Carolina

The Rural Context For Transportation Consultations

South Carolina is the 11th smallest state in the U.S. in land area, 26th largest in population, and 21st most densely populated. However, approximately 63 percent of South Carolina's population and jobs, and 96 percent of the land, is non-urban. About 83 percent of its roads are rural. Federally owned lands amount to just over 4 percent of the state's land area.

South Carolina is a moderately growing state, as measured by population, with a slowly growing rate of employment. The portion of the state's jobs that are in the uniquely rural agriculture and mining sectors is small (3 and less than one percent, respectively). Most jobs in South Carolina's rural areas are in sectors also common in urban areas: construction, transportation & utilities (14 percent); manufacturing (30 percent); business & trade (23 percent); and services & government (29 percent).

Demographically, South Carolina's non-urban population is predominately white and African American (68 and 31 percent, respectively). The proportion of South Carolina's non-urban adult population who did not graduate from college is relatively high (10th highest), and the proportion who did graduate from college is relatively low (8th lowest). The 16 percent of South Carolina's non-urban population who are poor is higher than in most other states. About 41 percent of the state's non-urban population is in non-working age groups (29 percent 18 years or younger, and 12 percent 65 years or older).

Governmentally, South Carolina has 46 counties, a fairly manageable number compared to many other states. The state also has 269 municipalities, but no towns or townships. It ranks below the middle (18th lowest) in terms of the number of sub-county governments among all states. South Carolina also has one federally recognized Indian tribe.

In addition, the 1997 U.S. Census of Governments has identified 11 independent, special-purpose governments in South Carolina that have transportation responsibilities. This number is lower than in many other states. These special types of local governments include 2 for highways, 4 for airports, and 5 for transit. South Carolina also has 10 other public transit providers serving rural areas and an additional 38 organizations that provide specialized transit services to elderly and disabled populations in those same areas.

South Carolina has 10 regional councils that cover approximately 100 percent of the state, and 10 MPOs. These regional units help to coordinate the other local governments and play a direct role in rural transportation programs as described below.

Of South Carolina's 64,129 miles of roads, approximately 65 percent are state-controlled, while less than one percent are federal. Of the total miles of non-federal rural roads, 65 percent are state, 34 percent are county, none are township, and 1 percent are municipal and other.

Processes For Consultation And Cooperation With Local Officials In Non-Metropolitan Areas

In response to ISTEA, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) gave transportation planning responsibilities to the 10 existing councils of governments (COGs). The COGs have representation from all 46 South Carolina counties. The SCDOT provides funds to the COGs for planning and also has staff to assist them. The SCDOT develops a 5-year STIP and a 20-year long-range transportation plan. SCDOT is primarily responsible for highway planning, but coordinates to an extent with other modes. It plans for funding bridges, interstate highways, and pavement and reconstruction separately from the regional process.

The process and procedures for prioritizing the highway needs statewide were developed jointly by the SCDOT and the COGs, and were first used for the 1999 STIP. The SCDOT develops a preliminary list of projects for each COG region, based on staff knowledge, safety information and congestion. The COGs then hold discussions, focused on the SCDOT list, with local elected officials, economic development groups and members of the legislative delegation. Additional projects may be identified during this initial COG review. Local elected officials may participate in the rural transportation planning process by developing plans for their local jurisdiction and by participating in their COGs.

A COG committee then reviews the list and ranks the projects based on a rural project ranking formula provided by SCDOT and other regionally developed criteria. The formula considers, among other things: congestion, safety, and factors that impact on economic development and employment. The SCDOT provides data to evaluate the projects on several of the formula's criteria; the COGs also use their Geographic Information System database to evaluate other formula factors. The COG board reviews and approves the ranking. This prioritized list becomes the COG recommendation to the SCDOT. The SCDOT then develops the STIP, which presents the priorities by COG region. Next, the State Transportation Commission reviews the plan, gives tentative approval, and returns it to the COGs for a public review period. Finally, the Transportation Commission reviews the comments, approves the plan, and forwards it to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The rural system upgrade program, which is essentially the federal-aid construction program for non-metropolitan areas, is allocated to regions on the basis of rural population. South Carolina combines NHS, STP and the minimum allocation funding and then allocates it. SCDOT also shares a portion (2.66 cents) of the state gas tax with counties. Transportation commissioners also have $25 million available to allocate to inter-regional projects. Counties also may levy special taxes for transportation, but only three have done so. A maximum of one-quarter of one percent of the gasoline tax is allocated to transit.

South Carolina uses these practices:

State Processes to Compile Transportation Needs: State develops a preliminary list based on travel, knowledge, safety and congestion, then the COGs can add, based on local information.
State Hearings: STIP is made available for a formal public review period.
Roles of RPOs: COGs serve that function for transportation planning and project prioritization.
Allocation of Transportation Funds and Responsibilities: SCDOT allocates construction funds on the basis of rural population to COG areas for priority recommendation by the COGs.
State Policy-Making and Advisory Bodies: Transportation Commission represents geographic areas

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