Rep. Rice: Funding for I-73 can’t be rerouted to upstate roads

U.S. Rep. Tom Rice on Tuesday disputed claims by a state lawmaker that congressional earmarks to fund Interstate 73 could be redirected to pay for other road repairs in the state.

State Sen. Tom Davis, a Beaufort Republican, is filibustering a road funding bill in the state legislature and said last week that millions set aside to construct the interstate to connect with Myrtle Beach could be rerouted because it had not been used.

However, Rice, the Republican congressman from Myrtle Beach, said I-73 does not qualify for the rerouting provision that Congress added to the omnibus spending bill in December, to which Davis was referring.

“The provision in the law prevents old earmarks from hanging out there forever, but the key provision is that at least 10 percent of the funds have not been obligated, and here, much more than 10 percent has been obligated,” Rice said.

Congress created two earmarks for the construction of I-73. The first amounted to more than $10 million, of which all but an estimated $200,000 has been spent. Of the second earmark for $76 million, about $39 million has been spent, Rice said.

“It means it is not subject to redirection, and that Davis is wrong,” Rice said.

Davis could not be reached for comment Tuesday because of the filibuster.

The intent of the law is to free up funding that has gone unused for 10 years because the projects have been abandoned. The freed money could only be used for federally funded highways in the vicinity of the originally proposed road. The money would not be a windfall, but rather in lieu of federal funding a state would have received for the redirected purpose.

“But, we’ve been working steadily on I-73, buying right-of-ways, moving utilities, working on mitigation, and that costs money,” Rice said.

“It would be against the law if they (state legislature) tried to redirect the money.”

The Greenville News reported Feb. 18 that Davis wanted to use the remaining funds that total about $37 million for maintenance on other federal highways, rather than build a new highway connecting Interstate 95 to Myrtle Beach.

However, a significant portion of the remaining funding for I-73 is also obligated to pay for Gunter’s Island, mitigation property that is intended to offset the impact of the new highway on wetlands.

The funding to construct I-73, estimated to cost more than $1 billion, would not come from state funding but continued federal funding. Additional revenues could also be raised from a new sales tax or tolls, according to Mike Wooten, chairman of the South Carolina Department of Transportation commission.

Rice said the road construction project would be “the largest infrastructure project we’ve ever undertaken” and add thousands of jobs to the area.

“I’ve been fighting to get these permits since I’ve been in Congress, and will work tirelessly to make sure this road project moves forward,” Rice said.

Audrey Hudson 843-444-1765; Twitter @AudreyHudson

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Rep. Rice: Funding for I-73 can’t be rerouted to upstate roads."