South Carolina roads not built for winter weather, experts say

CAMDEN, S.C. (WIS) - South Carolina roads are not designed for prolonged freezing temperatures that have hit the Midlands during two consecutive weekends of winter weather, according to transportation experts.

“Our roads in South Carolina are not designed for these prolonged freezing temperatures. And many surfaces don’t necessarily have the treatment or drainage design or the materials that people in kind of colder regions typically have,” said Brett Robertson, a University of South Carolina professor who studies how hazards affect daily life in the Palmetto State.

The cold weather creates unfamiliar problems for Southern drivers, with ice forming and lingering longer on bridges and shaded roads.

Darcy Bullock, director of the Joint Transportation Research Program at Purdue University, said the issue comes down to resource allocation. Southern states have fewer salt stockpiles, plow trucks and trained crews compared to northern regions.

“It’s expensive to buy salt trucks, salt stockpiles. And if you only use them every two or three years, they just rust and depreciate. So it’s somewhat of an unfortunate business decision that you have to make as if it’s an event that only happens every three or four years, you’re not going to invest in a lot of expensive assets,” Bullock said.

The result is pavement that becomes more vulnerable to the elements and potentially more cracks in the future.

Robertson noted that conditions can vary significantly across short distances.

“Conditions can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, block to block. And while you may think your own neighborhood or street is safe, the road down the way from you, just really close by, may actually have different conditions,” Robertson said.

South Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Justin Powell said the agency has the infrastructure needed for winter weather events, but snowfall of multiple inches will take crews time to work through.

Rome Ferg, a driver with road concerns, said winter conditions become particularly dangerous after dark.

“When the sun goes down, it’s over,” Ferg said.

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