Skip to main content

I-73 Tolls Stall...but the project keeps rolling along.

Image
By
From Today's Sun News:

A bill that would make Interstate 73 a toll road stalled indefinitely Thursday after two senators put a block on the measure.

Supporters of the road hoped to get the bill out quickly to show Congress that South Carolina is ready to pay its share to build Horry County's first interstate highway link. Congress kicked in $81 million for I-73 in last year's five-year highway bill, and members have promised more each year, but they want to see a toll put on the road because they can't promise the entire $2 billion price tag.

The House passed the bill in three days, but the same measure in the Senate came to a halt last week when two senators tried to amend it to include a toll on I-95.

One senator who wants the toll on I-95 put a block on the bill until his amendment is accepted, and a senator who opposes a toll on I-95 also blocked the bill.

Senate rules allow a member to block consideration of a bill indefinitely, unless a two-thirds majority forces the measure to a vote.

Sen. Larry Grooms, R-
Bonneau, said he put his block on the bill to prevent the I-95 toll amendment and he hopes the dispute can be worked out soon.

"I am a friend of the bill. I want the I-73 thing to pass," Grooms said.

He said he wants the bill held up until supporters can muster enough votes to overcome the I-95 amendment.

Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, and Sen. John Matthews, D-Bowman, proposed the amendment to the I-73 toll bill that would put a toll booth on I-95 near Orangeburg, with the money to be used to maintain and improve the highway.

Hutto put a block on the bill when objections were raised to his amendment.

Grooms said a toll on I-95 might be needed but the I-73 bill isn't the place to accomplish that. "That's a separate issue, and it should be a separate bill," Grooms said.

"My hope is that we get that taken care of," said Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. "It's a great project, and we need to get this bill out of here."

I'm not surprised that this happened once the two senators from Orangeburg threw in admendments for tolling I-95. Senator Grooms blocked the bill only because of the I-95 toll proposal and the other two blocked it because they were not going to get their wish for a toll booth on I-95.

This is just normal politics whether at the federal or local level. The I-95 measure should be on a seperate bill espescially since it is an existing Interstate highway and would need Federal approval first. If the two Orangeburg Senators believe that this bill would create tolls on I-95, they are largely mistaken.

It will take awhile for the issue to sort itself out. But this will not be the last we hear of a toll proposal for I-73. This will be an issue during each new legislative session. Stay tuned, this week's defeat for tolling I-73 is only a slight diversion towards its eventual completion. The bill does not stop any current studies on the eventual path of the highway or the plans for the $85 million in funding for the highway gained last year.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Day in New York: The Biggest Road Map Ever!

By
The NY State Pavilion 22nd April 2014 was the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the 1964-65 World's Fair in what's now known as Flushing Meadows Corona Park. There has been an active effort to restore the New York State Pavilion . It's an iconic structure, and has the potential to be a great attraction. I'm not just talking out of my hat here: Today's viewing event drew thousands. One of the organisers said they expected like 800 people to show up. My DP and I went-and we got there early- the event started at 11.00am, and we got there at 10, and the line was incredible even then:  we waited on line to get a number for two hours and another hour and a half to get our number called. We left the park at 3.00 pm, and one of my friends from a band said he had gotten his number, and was waiting to get in and wondered if we were still about. This was at 4 pm. One of the features of the Pavilion is that the floor is a giant NY State roadmap by Rand McNally, and ...
Post a Comment
Read more