There have been many accomplishments at SCDOT since Governor Sanford appointed Buck Limehouse as the first Secretary of Transportation in May of 2007. In 2006, the Legislative Audit Council found that SCDOT had mismanaged millions of dollars, employee morale was at its lowest, there was favoritism in the selection of consultants, and many other findings that created a general distrust of SCDOT among the public and members of the General Assembly. The Governor instructed Secretary Limehouse to run the agency as a business, being mindful that every dollar spent belongs to the taxpayer and decisions should reflect efficiency and transparency.

Since then, SCDOT has implemented a number of successful reforms and programs that, taken together, represent a vastly improved use of taxpayer dollars.

Cost Savings

The Secretary of Transportation implemented several policies and initiatives designed to produce cost savings (2007 to present) of nearly $200M:

o Reduction in Interstate Mowing Cycles (eliminated in Summers of 09/10) - $2.6M

o Transfer of South Island Ferry ($500K annually beginning in 2009) - $1M

o Elimination of Staff Positions in Secretary of Transportation's Office ($32K annually since FY07) - $96K

o Elimination of Washington Consultants ($265K annually since FY07) - $795K

o Reduction of Management Fees on CIP Toll Contract ($612K annually since FY07) - $1.8M

o Reduction in Travel - $500K (since FY07)

o Consolidation of Cell Phone Contracts ($41.4K annually since FY08) - $124K

o Reduction in Outside Consultants (since FY05) - $28M

o Reduction in Outside Legal Counsel (since FY05) - $485K

o Use of Value Engineering (since FY08) - $74.5M

o Administrative Budget Cuts Shifted to Maintenance (FY09) - $18.7M

o Project Cost Savings on I-385 Project (FY11) - $34M

o Refunding/Refinancing of Bonds - (FY10) - $31M

o A hiring freeze was implemented in May 2010 that has produced 318 vacancies (total vacancies are 620); duties of those leaving the agency have been dispersed among existing employees (no cost savings estimated yet)

“Fix it First”/Project Prioritization

· Strategy shifted from new construction to the maintenance of the existing 42,000 mile highway system in all regions of the state.

· Established objective engineering criteria to rank and prioritize project selection.

· Political influence was removed from the process.

Employee Morale

· Eliminated employee favoritism in job selection & pay increases.

· Established “open door” policy.

Outdoor Advertising/SC Logos Program

· Increased vegetation maintenance fees from $200 per board in 2007 to $400 per board in 2010, recognizing an increase of $245,000 in revenues.

· Issued a lower number of permits for ODA, going from 1,444 permits issued in 2007 to 1,229 in 2010.

· Secured legislation to allow for ODA pilot program to allow outdoor advertisers to upgrade one non-conforming billboard in exchange for the removal of two or more non-conforming billboards.

· SC Logos program generates one of the highest revenue streams of any state logo program in the USA – approximately 3.2M annually.

I-385 Laurens County

· Innovative schedule closed 13.5 miles of north bound lanes completely using local detours

· Construction schedule was reduced to eight months.

· Normal schedule required three years of construction & congestion.

· Compressed schedule saved $34 million & applied to Upstate projects.

· I-385 Laurens now meets interstate standards

· Concrete resurfacing is maintenance free for 20 years.

· Project completed two weeks early and on budget.

US 17 Ace Basin Trees

· November 2007 – Governor Sanford initiates effort to preserve maximum number of trees.

· SCDOT announces redesign of US 17 Beaufort County widening project.

· Redesign preserves 30 trees including 23 oak trees near the Combahee River.

· The scenic canopy on US 17 Beaufort is preserved.