
State officials encourage rural South Carolina communities to apply for $250 million infrastructure grants.
COLUMBIA, S.C. โ State officials are encouraging rural communities to apply for a multi-million dollar infrastructure grant program aimed at upgrading roads and public facilities in underserved parts of South Carolina.
The South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank gave an update Monday on the Rural Infrastructure Fund, which sets aside $250 million over the next 10 years to help smaller counties pay for major road projects.
โCounties and projects need to be able to participate in the process that don’t have penny sales tax and don’t have the resources,โ said John White, director of the Transportation Infrastructure Bank.
To be eligible, projects must be located in counties with fewer than 115,000 residents, cost between $25 and $50 million, and provide a public benefit.
โWe think that you’re entitled to the economic development thatโs a benefit of bridges or roads that we build,โ White said. โYou need good schools, good places to work with good wages, and good hospitals.โ
Although the application period first opened last year, the state received just three applicationsโnone of which met the criteria. This year, officials say theyโve seen increased interest and recently held a workshop to help counties and municipalities better understand the requirements.
โI think we had about eight or 10 counties and MPOs attend that,โ said Charles Cannon with the Transportation Infrastructure Bank. โA lot of good questions. I do believe that we will have several applications.โ
The application deadline is June 13. Projects that meet the criteria will still need to be reviewed by the South Carolina Department of Transportation and a legislative committee before receiving final approval.