During their last meeting, members of the Greenville Pickens Area Transportation Study Commission placed improvements to the intersection of U.S. 123 and Prince Perry Road at the top of the list to receive funding from the $780 billion federal stimulus package.
That work, which includes replacing the bridge on Prince Perry Road, would greatly assist the creation of Easley Town Center, a large shopping center being built at the old Saco Lowell plant site that would bring new jobs to the Easley area and new shopping opportunities to Pickens County.
Work on the development has been placed on hold, due to economic concerns.
But a recent meeting of the Department of Transportation Highway commission put the brakes on those road improvements receiving any funds.
According to Sen. Larry Martin, a member of the GPATS committee, though the project is truly shovel-ready, having received the all the necessary permission from DOT, its original source of funding is proving problematic.
“It’s my understanding that the Easley project ran into some projects with the TIF district financing,” he said.
Easley city council voted to create a Tax Increment Financing District around the Saco Lowell site.
A TIF district freezes property taxes within its boundaries at a certain level, with any increases in property taxes going to fund projects within the TIF district.
Because developers proceeded with the understanding that Easley Town Center would be locally funded, the project does not fall within the criteria to receive federal highway aid funding, Martin said.
“There’s a check-list of things that you have to do,” he said. “That’s an impediment with this particular project.”
The Prince Perry work was the Pickens County project deemed the most shovel-ready, Martin said.
“Under the stimulus package guidelines for money toward new projects, the projects must be ready to be let out for contracts within 120 days,” he said. “We have very few projects, of any size, that fall into that category.”
GPATS members tried to formulate a list of projects that would stimulus package requirements before the stimulus bill was passed, Martin said.
Another planned project, extending U.S. 153 to run behind the Saco Lowell project will not be ready for contracts within the 120-day stipulation, he said.
“That’s the sad thing about that,” he said. “GPATS will be working with the DOT on that project to tap into any funds that are available next year.”
That project remains “in the pipeline” with just a small right of way remaining to be acquired, Martin said.
The intersection of Prince Perry Road and Brushy Creek Road has been recommended by GPATS to receive about $1 million in stimulus funding, Martin said.
All in all, the GPATS area will receive about $10 million for new construction, with the majority of federal stimulus money going toward road resurfacing, Martin said.
“The Saco Lowell project alone will cost about $13.5 million,” he said. “That project dwarves the amount of money available.
“We have a lot of roads that need to be resurfaced,” Martin continued. “We have a limited number of projects that will be in the mix because of that 120 day start-up limit.”
Pickens County has been treated “very fairly” by the Greenville contingent of GPATS, Martin said.
“Even though we have minority members, the Greenville representatives have been very generous toward Pickens County projects that we recommended,” he said. “We’re in good shape, we have projects that are up and ready to go. They’re just not right where they need to be.”
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