Bridge to Nowhere
May 17, 2005
by: Angela French

Wastewatcher, 5-May

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) is at it again.  The hero to fiscal conservatives (and recent recipient of Citizens Against Government Waste’s Grace Commission Legacy Award) is questioning a proposal to build a three-mile bridge over the Santee River that would connect the state’s rural communities of Rimini in Clarendon County with Lone Star in Calhoun County.  Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) included $25 million for the project in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005, arguing that the bridge would bring economic development to the impoverished area and improve the local school system.

Gov. Sanford countered that the location of the bridge is not ideal for economic improvements.  On April 28, 2005, Gov. Sanford told The Greenville News “this is not as if it’s a pristine area ripe for development….You have the Pinewood dump on one side, you have state forest lands and a bombing range.  If you’re really about maximizing economic development, there are other things that can be done with this same money in that congressional district that would have a greater consequence.”

Environmentalists worry that the bridge would threaten the natural habitats of Sparkleberry Swamp, home to crocodiles, bald eagles, and several other endangered and threatened species. 

The official name for the proposed bridge is the Briggs-DeLaine-Pearson Connector, but a better name would be the Bridge to Nowhere.  Another reason to oppose the bridge is that it will be built using federal funds.  Transportation officials estimate that the proposed bridge will cost taxpayers $110 million.  Rep. Clyburn insists the highest projection he has heard is $79 million and says the final number could be lower.  Given the history of government construction projects, this one will not end up costing less than originally projected.  At $110 million, the connector will cost taxpayers $36.67 million per mile or $6,944 per foot. 

The connector is part of a proposed 9.6-mile road renovation in Rep. Clyburn’s district.  The project first received taxpayer dollars in 1998, when $6.5 million was included for the bridge in the 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.  Since then, $9.2 million has been spent to conduct feasibility and impact studies.  Combined with the recent $25 million, $34.2 million has been wasted on the Bridge to Nowhere.  

Rep. Clyburn could have used the federal funds to pay for improvements to existing roads and bridges in the area.  Just 10 miles down the river from the proposed connector site is the 601 bridge, which is in dire need of repair.  By building the new bridge, the commute between the two main cities in the area, Sumter and Orangeburg, would be cut by just three minutes, adding a whole new meaning to “time is money!”

The Bridge to Nowhere is just the beginning.  Rep. Clyburn envisions developing the Marion Lake area into a tourist destination, complete with a golf course and other recreational activities.  Taxpayers could be paying for Rep. Clyburn’s grand schemes for a long time to come.