Future of I-526 money likely to be delayed

A decision on who will get hundreds of millions in state roads money and where it will be spent may have to wait.

The chairman of a state roads agency plans to recommend extending the deadline to wind down the planned extension of Interstate 526 in Charleston County.

The board that governs the S.C. Transportation Infrastructure Bank approved unwinding the project last month. The move came after Charleston failed to meet its deadline to come up with a plan to pay its $353 million share of the cost of extending I-526, also known as the Mark Clark Expressway.

That deadline was set in December after the projected cost of the road had increased to $773 million from $420 million, which the bank initially set aside for the project.

Environmental groups, including the S.C. Coastal Conservation League, opposed extending I-526.

Now, Charleston County wants the Infrastructure Bank to agree to spend the remaining balance of the $420 million set aside for extending I-526 on other projects in that county.

However, other areas of the state would like that money, too. Applications now before the Infrastructure Bank include projects in Berkeley and York counties, and an application from Richland and Lexington counties and the City of Columbia.