South Carolina

Local officials in Horry County in northeast South Carolina want to explore private financing of a long-sought 4-lane expressway as a tollroad. The road project known as Storm Evacuation Life Line (SELL) is at an advanced stage of permitting with a preferred alternative route.

As they warned last fall the Greenville Southern Connector (GSC) tollroad defaulted on debt service due January 1. They are now in discussion with creditors as to who takes the losses, and how they reorganize the toll operation in Greenville SC - located on I-85 midway between Atlanta GA and Charlotte NC.

A statement released by the operator, Connector 2000 Association says:

US Bank, trustees for the bondholders of Connector 2000 Association, the owner of the Southern Connector tollroad in Greenville South Carolina have issued an official notice that they expect a default Jan 1, 2010 with insufficient funds being available from the pike to make debt service that's due.

The Greenville Southern Connector in South Carolina is getting an investment grade traffic and revenue study, and meanwhile the procurement of a concession is on hold. Peter Femia, general manager of the Connector 2000 Association a not-for-profit which operates the tollroad under a 50 year license from the state told us their financial advisers Goldman Sachs recommended the T&R study and other measures before the association pressed forward with the private concession.

The Greenville Southern Connector (GSC) is on offer to patient investors. As a not-for-profit (NFP) tollroad financed with conventional fixed interest bonds it is inexorably going broke. Last summer the Connector 2000 Association (C2A) was approached by an investor group (identify still undisclosed) with a proposal to take over the ailing non-profit, says general manager Peter Femia.

At a state transportation commission meeting last week an FHWA official said the US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters had approved the South Carolina application to build the $2.1b 130km (80 mile) I-73 with tolls. Project manager for I-73 Mitchell Metts told us today he hasn't seen any letter from FHWA but he expects it is on its way.