Letters: Even evacuation routes are in awful repair

I recently had to travel to Columbia and was surprised by the horrible condition of S.C. 215 in Chester and Fairfield counties and of U.S. 176 in Newberry County. We’ve heard about how bad S.C. roads are, but have you driven on them?

What is surprising is that S.C. 215 and U.S. 176 are designated as “emergency evacuation routes.” The S.C. 213 bridge over the Broad River is pocked full of potholes and is functionally obsolete and also is an evacuation route.

If this wasn’t already a concern, it should be after last week. If public safety is of a concern to the state government, then why are these roads in such horrible shape?

I have traveled on emergency evacuation routes along the coast that were also in horrible shape. I guess they don’t get priority in paving since they usually do not have high traffic counts unless there is an emergency.

Do you think they should?

This story was originally published October 9, 2016 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Letters: Even evacuation routes are in awful repair."