GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — Greenville County’s population is growing. But, according to Tee Coker, the assistant county administrator for community planning and development, the county’s roads are not keeping up with the growth.
“Basically, we just haven’t kept up with the pace of investment and development,” Coker said.
At a meeting Tuesday, Greenville County planning and engineering staff updated county council on the state of the county’s roads.
“We’re on an unsustainable path,” Coker said. “We’re headed down the wrong road. Right now, we’re dealing with not just years but decades of under investment.”
Greenville County is the largest county in the state and has the largest population. But according to county leaders, Greenville County invests the least amount of money to improve its roads.
“We have to consider an alternative path,” Hesha Gamble, the assistant county administrator for engineering and public works, said. “We’re not spending what we need to spend on our roads. We have to make a county-wide investment.”
Representatives from the South Carolina Department of Transportation, Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study and Greenville Legislative Delegation Transportation Committee were present at the meeting and explained how many miles of roads their agencies fix each year. But, they said it is difficult to keep up with demand.
“The problem is, with 1,800 county miles, that’s a 60-year cycle,” Jeff Hilderbran, a program manager for the Greenville Legislative Delegation Transportation Committee, said. “Roads are lasting — if you’re lucky — you get 30 [years].”
County Council did not decide how they plan to provide more funding for roads projects at their meeting Tuesday. They said they must balance improving improving road conditions, such as fixing potholes and repaving, with widening roads to keep up with growth.
