$350K to go toward Lowcountry road improvement projects

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A new grant program will benefit roadways in several Lowcountry counties in an effort to reduce the number of traffic fatalities each year.

The Lowcountry Council of Governments will receive $350,000 from the grant that has a goal of improving local roadways and reducing the number of national traffic fatalities.

This organization focuses on transportation planning for urban and rural areas and this grant will affect roadways in Jasper, Hampton, Colleton and Beaufort Counties.

Planning director for Lowcountry Council of Governments Stephanie Rossi says they had 340 traffic deaths between 2016 and 2020 across all those counties. She says because of their smaller population size, their traffic fatality rate is very high.

“There’s a disproportionate amount of the fatalities happening,” Rossi said.

Rossi says you would think a lot of their traffic deaths would happen in more urban areas, but a lot are happening in their rural areas. She says the money from the Safe Streets and Roads For All Grant Program, a new program established by President Biden’s historic infrastructure law, will make a big difference.

“Part of the grant is based on, they took a look at how many fatalities we’ve had, your fatality rate based on in conjunction with your population,” Rossi said.

This program provides $5 billion over five years to improve infrastructure. This investment comes after traffic fatalities reached a 16-year high in 2021.

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration says motor vehicle crashes cost the country $340 billion, according to 2019 data. Rossi says she hopes their number of traffic fatalities will go down to zero.

“Our region is growing so fast, and our infrastructure just hasn’t been able to keep up,” Rossi said.

Rossi says it will most likely be several months before they see this money, but in the meantime, they will be gathering information from the community to figure out which roads need the most priority.

Click here to read the full press release from the United States Department of Transportation.

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