Letters: SC infrastructure fix vital to business

Our Legislature and governor have an opportunity to make a long term, sustainable investment in our state’s roads, bridges and ports.

Safe and reliable transportation infrastructure is critical to companies such as Caterpillar, which has three facilities, 300 suppliers and more than 500 employees here in South Carolina.

We need strong infrastructure to move our machines and parts to our customers and to provide safe travel for our employees and their families. Weakened highways and bridges and poor access to ports force us to take the long way anywhere we’re going. It reduces the value of having the deepest port on the coast if the roads and bridges cannot handle the cargo.

The good news is there is a solution. It isn’t simply investment in infrastructure; it’s an investment in S.C. business, workers and our state economy. We can begin now to address our infrastructure needs that will sustain us for generations to come.

Many policymakers on both sides of the aisle support infrastructure investment. Now is the time for them to provide strong and courageous leadership on behalf of all South Carolinians.

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Letters: SC infrastructure fix vital to business."