By Skylar Laird
SCDailyGazette.com
COLUMBIA — The transportation director who’s overseen the repair of South Carolina’s deteriorating roadways for a decade will retire at the end of March, the agency announced Wednesday, Jan. 17.
Christy Hall has spent much of her tenure persuading the GOP-dominated Legislature to put more money into fixing the nation’s fourth-largest highway system, which had been falling apart over decades.
“South Carolina has experienced unprecedented levels of road and bridge work in every county of the state,” Hall said in a statement. “It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside the men and women of the S.C. Department of Transportation to serve the people of South Carolina.”
After Hall’s multiple presentations on billions’ worth of problems and declining revenue to fix them — and pleas from business groups — the Legislature passed a law in 2017 that raised by-the-gallon gasoline taxes by 12 cents over six years. The compromise, which took effect over the veto of Gov. Henry McMaster, represented the state’s first fuel tax increase in 30 years.
Hall was appointed Department of Transportation secretary in 2015 by then-Gov. Nikki Haley, whose threatened gas-tax veto for years led to temporary solutions that largely involved borrowing money to fix roads.
The secretary leads an agency of more than 3,600 employees, not including workers contracted for road and bridge projects. Her salary is nearly $310,000.
Hall started her career at the DOT after graduating from Clemson University and spent more than two decades in positions that included road design and finance before she was promoted to administration. Her predecessor as director, who resigned in 2014 following a drunken driving arrest, often characterized his job as managing “the decline of the state highway system.”
In 2022, Hall persuaded legislators to put an additional $600 million, mostly from federal aid, toward speeding up the widening of rural stretches of interstates 26 and 95. Other major projects underway include a $2 billion fix to the intersection of interstates 20 and 26 in Columbia known as “Malfunction Junction.”
Last year, the Legislature rejected Hall’s request to make a $1 billion commitment — $200 million yearly for five years — toward fixing bridges across South Carolina that are decades beyond their expected lifespan.
McMaster’s budget recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year again include putting surplus revenues toward roadwork. Specifically, his suggestion would put $500 million toward fixing bridges.
“Secretary Hall will be remembered as one of the greatest transportation secretaries in state history,” McMaster said in a statement.
“Her unparalleled expertise and relentless work ethic have allowed (the department) to flourish under her leadership,” he continued. “Whether responding to natural disasters or spearheading transformative infrastructure projects, she has consistently delivered for the people of South Carolina.”
Editor Seanna Adcox contributed to this report.
Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau.
