Title 57, Highways, Bridges and Ferries

Any person convicted of violating the provisions of Sections 57-5-160 through 57-5-180 may be punished in any court of competent jurisdiction by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than thirty days.

The I-526 bridge and interchange that span U.S. Highway 17 and U.S. Highway 7 in Charleston County is named the "Bob Harrell Bridge and Interchange" in honor of this distinguished South Carolinian. The Department of Transportation shall install appropriate markers or signs at thi…

The interstate system of highways shall consist of the segments of highways in South Carolina in the officially designated national system of interstate and defense highways.

The state highway primary system shall consist of a connected system of principal state highways, not to exceed ten thousand miles, connecting centers of population, as determined by the Commission of the Department of Transportation.

The commission and the Department of Transportation may own such real estate, in fee simple or by lease, as shall be deemed necessary for the purpose of facilitating the proper operation of the department or for the building and maintenance of the public highways in the state hig…

The department may acquire an easement or fee simple title to real property by gift, purchase, condemnation or otherwise as may be necessary, in the judgment of the department, for the construction, maintenance, improvement or safe operation of highways in this State or any secti…

The minimum width of the right-of-way required for the construction, maintenance and safe operation of state highways is hereby fixed at sixty-six feet. But the department, in its discretion, may accept a lesser width than sixty-six feet within incorporated towns or where existin…

The department shall continuously inventory all of its real property. When, in the judgment of the department any real estate acquired as provided in this chapter is no longer necessary for the proper operation of the department or highway systems, the department shall vigorously…

The department shall neither lease nor sell any part of the state highway primary system, rights-of-way or any of the controlled-access highway facilities for commercial enterprise activities, except public utilities, which were acquired by easement. This shall not serve to preve…

Whenever the department is required or authorized by law to construct or improve streets within municipalities, the municipality or the department may condemn additional land necessary for the improvement of the streets or property within the municipality required for materials w…

The department, for the purpose of acquiring property as authorized by Section 57-5-320, may condemn lands, rights-of-way, and easements of railroad, railway, telegraph, or other public service corporations, provided that the condemnation does not impair the ability of the railro…

The state highway secondary system shall consist of all roads, streets and highways in the state highway system not otherwise designated as highways in the interstate system or the state highway primary system.

The commission may transfer any route or section of route from the state highway secondary system to the state highway primary system, or vice versa, when, in its judgment, such transfer is advisable to better serve the traveling public.

When the department condemns property, the award shall be paid by the department.

All deeds or other instruments conveying, or intended to convey, a right-of-way and the original papers in all condemnation proceedings to acquire a right-of-way for any state highway shall be filed by the department in its offices at Columbia, and a direct index of all such deed…

The department shall maintain in the office of the tax assessor for each of the several counties a copy of all highway plans on which are indicated the widths of the rights-of-way for each road in the related district or county and an alphabetical list of property owners on each …

The department may charge, as part of the cost of construction, the costs of rights-of-way necessary in connection with the improvement or construction of any state highway project.

Nothing herein contained shall be construed to divest the county authorities of the right to condemn for highway purposes, but the rights herein granted are concurrent with the rights and powers of governing bodies of counties and they may still condemn property for highway purpo…

The department may add to the state highway primary system any sections or connections which, in the judgment of the department may be necessary in the proper development of the federal-aid primary highway system or the state highway primary system.

Whenever the Department of Transportation shall determine that any property previously acquired for right-of-way is not required for either right-of-way or departmental purposes, it may expressly abandon that right-of-way or property or any portion thereof, or may grant written p…

A county or municipality and the department may by mutual consent agree to transfer a road from the county or municipal road system to the state highway system. The transfer may be of the road "as is", without further improvement to the road or upon such terms and conditions as t…

Except as otherwise provided by law, the construction of the state highway system shall be carried on simultaneously in each of the highway districts of the State, and the commission shall determine and arrange the order of the work in a fair and equitable manner among the counti…

The Department of Transportation shall construct the highways in the state highway primary system and the highways in the state highway secondary system to standards commensurate with the amount and types of traffic services to be rendered by the highways in the respective system…

The Department may remove, when practicable, view-obstructing banks of dirt that exist at the intersections of any State highway with another State highway or with any other public highway.

The Department may construct Federal-aid secondary or feeder highways, including farm-to-market roads, on such highways or sections of highways as may be necessary to comply with Federal-aid statutes and governing regulations of the Federal Highway Administration with respect the…

The Department may contract with any of the counties in this State for the construction and improvement by any such county of any farm-to-market road in the State highway system within such county and may pay for the construction and improvement of such road, provided the cost of…

The Department of Transportation is hereby authorized to enter into reimbursement agreements with the several counties of the State for the construction of farm-to-market and secondary roads financed through the issuance of bonds and reimbursed from funds accruing under the provi…

When, in the construction or repair of any State highway, a third less may be expended by the State, in conjunction with other funds herein provided for, for the approach to or the crossing of any waterway, creek or river, through the building of a dam, levee or other facility fo…

Any such agreement executed by other than the Department shall be valid and binding when signed by such person as may agree to donate or appropriate funds for such project, and the signing by the executive officers of a private corporation, municipality or county shall be a suffi…

Any such structure and all parts thereof shall be made according to plans and specifications approved by the Department.

The department may transfer from the state highway secondary system any road under its jurisdiction, determined by the department to be of low traffic importance, to one of the parties indicated in this section if mutual consent is reached between the department and the party tha…

The Department, in its discretion, may expend as provided herein upon such project as is mentioned in Section 57-5-770, whether it be the immediate approach, bridge or highway immediately affected thereby or a water-controlling device, two thirds of the amount estimated as necess…

The construction, reconstruction and maintenance authorized in Section 57-5-140 may include all necessary provisions for the operation and parking of vehicles, sidewalks for pedestrians, gutters, storm drains and such other structures within the limits of the highway right-of-way…

As used in this section and Section 57-5-830: "Structurally deficient" means not adequate to handle the vehicle weights authorized on roads leading to them. "Functionally obsolete" means narrow clearances or sharp roadway approach angles that make passage difficult or hazardous, …

In every case of a proposed permanent improvement, construction, reconstruction, or alteration by the Department of any highway or highway facility within a municipality, the municipality may review and approve the plans before the work is started; except that a municipality may …

A municipality may not alter any state highway facility without the prior approval of the department, and any use or restriction made by a municipality of a highway or highway right of way for municipal utilities, parking, or other purposes is subject to prior approval of the dep…

(A) Parking facilities on state highway facilities located in beach communities that are eligible for beach renourishment funds: (1) must include free public beach parking; (2) may include paid public beach parking; and (3) only may be restricted by the department if the departme…

The State highway system shall be built, constructed and maintained from any moneys derived from the automobile license tax, gasoline tax and other special imposts upon highway users, Federal aid and other grants-in-aid and such other moneys as may from time to time be made avail…

The Department, in its discretion, may enter into and carry out agreements with the governing body of any county providing that the Department may construct ways, spurs or ramps on any of its rights of way providing access from any State highway to any public landing on any water…

The Department of Transportation and the Department of Natural Resources are authorized to enter into cooperative agreements for the construction of access roads and recreation facilities in any county in the State. The agreements may provide for the Department of Transportation …

Section effective until July 1, 2026. (A) For the purposes of this section: (1) "Betterment" means any upgrade to a facility being relocated that is made solely for the benefit of the public water system and that is not attributable to the improvement, construction, reconstructio…

The commission may establish such belt lines or spurs as it deems proper and construct and maintain such belt lines and spurs from funds otherwise provided by law for the construction and maintenance of the state highway system, but the total length of such belt lines and spurs t…