I have watched with interest how opponents of the Clyburn Connector have shaped and re-shaped their arguments and misrepresentations in the media.  And as each one is diffused, they regroup and attack from a different angle.

Environmental Harm:  The first attack came from environmentalists who were right to question the environmental impact of the proposed bridge.   I initially referred to the project as a causeway and asked the S.C. Department of Transportation for a cost estimate.   They estimated the cost to be $35 to $40 million.   But when I learned that a causeway would require filling in acres of wetlands, I asked the SCDOT to redesign the bridge to span the wetlands.  These modifications increased the price tag to $65 to $70 million, in my opinion not too high a price to protect the environment and the species living in the area.  We also learned the channel that was cut to build the existing railroad trestle is still there and could be utilized to build a bridge on either side of the railroad tracks. Consequently, there would be no silting problem.

Wasteful Spending:  Were these opponents content with my efforts to cause no harm to the environment?  No, they seized the new price tag as their next line of attack.  They teamed up with the so-called Committee Against Government Waste to release a report criticizing the project as a waste of taxpayers’ money.  But you can’t have it both ways.

Personal Attacks:  Recently, the attacks have become personal.  Like most public servants, I hope to leave the world a better place than I found it.  The legacy I seek, however, is not my name on a bridge, but the benefits that would flow from this bridge and other bridges I have sought to build, figuratively as well as literally -- benefits such as access to jobs, health care and education.

Bridging the Opportunity Gap:  Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinions, but there is only one set of facts. The facts in the accompanying chart reveal the dramatic impact the bridge will have on access to opportunity for those residing in or near Lone Star and Rimini.  The number of industrial jobs within 35 minutes of Lone Star and vicinity will more than double.  Rimini area residents will more than double their access to higher education and health care if the bridge is built.

Source: South Carolina Department of Commerce, the University of South Carolina, and the HNTB Corporation