York County votes 'yes' on Pennies for Progress plan to improve roads

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — York County overwhelmingly voted "yes" Tuesday night for an expensive plan to fix roads.

It is the fourth phase of Pennies for Progress, a one-cent sales-and-use tax to improve infrastructure.

[LINK: Ballot: Pennies for Progress]

It'll divide nearly $300 million for road improvement.

For the fourth time in 20 years, voters in York County are being asked to pay a penny sales tax to improve roads.

More than a dozen new road projects will break ground if voters again say yes to the tax.

"I don't like being taxed any more than anybody else, but this tax is a little bit different because you can actually see the progress," supporter Tim Gause said.

That's one of the reasons that the last two votes on the issue passed overwhelmingly by 73 percent in 2003 and 82 percent in 2011.

The three previous votes have generated more than $500 million in revenue which has funded 53 road projects since 1997.

Those projects include widening, repaving, sidewalks and others across the county.

The fourth phase of Pennies for Progress will allow the county to collect another $277 million for more than a dozen new and ongoing projects.

One is the current widening of Cel-River road from Celanese to Dave Lyle boulevard.

However, voters like Marija Mack said the roads are still bad.

"Especially Cherry Road,” Mack said. “I think they lose a lot of business because of the bad roads. People avoid them.”

Also, the state finally raised the gas tax by 12 cents for roads. However, Pennies for Progress director Patrick Hamilton said that money won't pay for many local projects.

"The DOT has already come out and said the majority of that funding is going toward the interstate system, repairing deficient bridges and some safety projects," Hamilton said.

Talking to voters all day Tuesday, Channel 9 didn't find anyone opposed to extending the sales tax for another seven years.

However, some do take issue with how all those pennies having been spent over the years.

"I just don't think the quality is always there with the road repairs,” Frankie Lyons said. “It seems sometimes it can be botched. I can hardly drive on Celanese without hitting a manhole cover and tossing my work truck all over the road.”

Over its 20-year history, Pennies for Progress has seen controversy over delays, major cost overruns and disputes over which roads should be atop the list for improvement.

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