Page 8 • June 19, 2019 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT GUIDE

S.C.’s Booming Paving Industry Creates 1,000 New Jobs

By Chuck MacDonaldCEG CORRESPONDENT

A partnership is a great concept, and whenit works it’s almost magic. That magic ishappening right now in the South Carolinaasphalt pavement industry.Like many states, South Carolina faces

crumbling infrastructure due to years of neg-lect. Unlike other states, however, SouthCarolina decided to be proactive and dosomething about it. The South CarolinaAsphalt Pavement Association (SCAPA) ispart of a broad coalition led by the SCAlliance to Fix Our Roads, uniting the busi-ness community and the construction, man-ufacturing, agribusiness and transportationindustries — as well as the general public —to push for infrastructure funding. “Infrastructure is vital to the state econo-

my,” said Ashley Batson, executive directorof SCAPA. “Over the past 25 years, SouthCarolina has seen huge growth in advancedmanufacturing and agribusiness. Severalother large businesses have moved to thestate and employ many workers. In addition,the Port of Charleston has achieved recordgrowth, delivering many products to betransported across the state and to otherregions.”The last time that South Carolina legisla-

tors approved an increase in the state’s gaswas in 1987. Without additional investment,the state’s roads and bridges began to fallinto significant disrepair in the years since.Some of the larger industries began making

noise that the poor infrastructure was limit-ing their opportunities for expansion. Thestate legislature finally got the message andpassed a 12 cents per gallon gas tax increaselast year. With the new gas tax increase, theSouth Carolina Department ofTransportation (SCDOT) expects to doubleits resurfacing program, complete 11 to 12interstate widening projects, replace 465structurally deficient bridges and add 1,000miles of safety features to South Carolina’srural roads. This is the largest increase inroad investments in the state’s history. For the fiscal year beginning July 1,

SCDOT expects a 17 percent increase inspending on pavement projects with an addi-tional 15 percent increase planned for thefollowing year.“These projects will occur across the state

and will benefit all citizens, whether they aretraveling on the interstate, on a rural high-way or through a commercial district,”Batson said. In the asphalt industry alone, the projects

are expected to create 1,000 new jobs acrossthe state over the next five years, according

to SCAPA. A major challenge in theprogress is the lack of qualified workers forthe industry. This issue is plaguing not onlySouth Carolina, but much of the nation aswell. SCAPA recognized the potential prob-lem and created the Asphalt Works!Initiative two years ago. The unique pro-gram is a concerted effort to inform the pub-lic and those in the job market about theavailability of well-paying jobs in the asphaltindustry. The initiative shows a pathway tosuccess in this tough, yet rewarding workenvironment. The earning potential foremployees in this industry rivals that ofthose working in other similar skilled trades. The message about Asphalt Works! and

its interactive website is being promotedusing TV, radio, billboards, social media andprinted literature. The campaign aims to ben-efit both the industry workforce and SouthCarolina residents. “The asphalt industry is booming. Asphalt

companies are hiring people with and with-out experience. These are good jobs withgood pay, comprehensive benefit packages,a family atmosphere that comes from a

growth industry,” said Dan Ellzey, executivedirector, SC Department of Employmentand Workforce. “The Asphalt Works! cam-paign does an excellent job of telling thestory of this growth and describing the jobsthat are available across the state.”This partnership between the state legisla-

ture, local business and the paving industryas a whole is on a promising path. “Thework that goes into building the roads in thisstate is vitally important to our economy andthe needs of the motoring public,” saidChristy Hall, South Carolina’s secretary oftransportation. “Our asphalt workers areresults-oriented, driven and take pride indoing this vital work.”"Strengthening our road network takes

integrity and skill, and it is essential to busi-nesses in the Carolinas,” noted Steve Cosper,president of Granite Contracting, LLC andSCAPA’s board president. “Strong infra-structure is crucial to a strong business envi-ronment, and we are proud of this innovativeworkforce development campaign." For information on the website, go to

asphaltworkssc.org. CEG

“The asphalt industry is booming.Asphalt companies are hiring peoplewith and without experience. These aregood jobs with good pay, comprehen-sive benefit packages, a family atmos-phere that comes from a growth indus-try,” said Dan Ellzey, executive director,SC Department of Employment andWorkforce.

For the fiscal year beginning July 1, SCDOT expects a 17 percentincrease in spending on pavement projects with an additional 15 per-cent increase planned for the following year.

With the state’s new gas tax increase, SCDOT expects to doubleits resurfacing program, complete 11 to 12 interstate wideningprojects, replace 465 structurally deficient bridges and add1,000 miles of safety features to South Carolina’s rural roads.

“The work that goes into building the roads in this state isvitally important to our economy and the needs of themotoring public,” said Christy Hall, South Carolina’s secre-tary of transportation.