For decades, infrastructure has been what politicians and journalists call a “MEGO issue” — that is, one that’s important enough to deserve attention, but not captivating enough to hold it. Hence the term: My Eyes Glaze Over.
But after nearly a decade of galloping population growth that clogged state roads, crowded local schools and pushed some water systems to the breaking point, 2026 is shaping up to be the year that infrastructure stopped being MEGO in South Carolina.
In fact, judging by recent headlines, it’s almost starting to look … sexy.
Earlier this year, after months of study, state lawmakers revamped the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) to push more construction projects through the system faster.
This fall, residents from Beaufort to Charleston to Greenville will vote on local referendums to raise their own taxes, by millions and in some cases billions of dollars, for roads, schools, water and sewer systems.
And right now, if you ask the two major party candidates for governor to name the top issues facing the state, you’ll find there’s one they agree on.
“Infrastructure is incredibly important,” state Attorney General and GOP nominee Alan Wilson told the Charleston City Paper recently. “There are parts of our state that are just overpopulated at this point, where people are sitting in parking lots on the interstate on their way home, and they’re just sick and tired of it.”
Wilson’s Democratic opponent, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson of Richland County, was equally forceful on the subject in an Aug. 27 interview.
“Our infrastructure is just abysmal,” Johnson said. “We have some of the worst roads in the entire country. We have one of the highest percentages of bridges in disrepair. We’re going to have to redevelop all that.”
Tax and build?
The challenge to all this bipartisan bonhomie? Sticker shock. That’s why the legislature’s SCDOT reform bill included a plan to attract billions in private investment for state road projects. And it’s why local infrastructure referendums so often struggle at the ballot box.
For instance, voters in Greenville and Charleston counties rejected transportation sales tax increases in 2024. But with traffic only getting worse, they’ll be asked to rerun the referendums again this year — with Greenville voters weighing a $1 billion tax increase over eight years, and Charleston voters considering $4.25 billion over 25 years.
Potentially complicating the issue even further in Charleston: A school sales tax referendum on the same ballot that’s asking for an additional $1.25 billion, mostly for new school construction.
Nevertheless, as Logan McVey, leader of the Charleston-area group trying to get both referendums passed, argued in a recent commentary, the region’s infrastructure has been “overrun” by a “historic shift” in population growth.
“These referendums offer our chance to catch up, because waiting only makes the problems worse and the solutions more expensive,” McVey wrote.
Put simply, South Carolina has outgrown its infrastructure, and even with successful bureaucratic reforms and private sector participation, taxpayers at one level or another are being asked to come up with billions to catch up.
The good news, according to one recent study? If they do, the return on that investment could be significant.
Big investments, big returns?
South Carolina has added about 800,000 new residents over the past decade, with another 800,000 expected in the decade to come.
For perspective, the state’s largest city, Charleston, has a population of about 150,000.
In other words, S.C. has added more than five Charlestons since 2015. And if trends play out as expected, it will add another five by 2035.
So far, experts say, that boom has been a boon to the state’s economy.
“South Carolina is currently ranked third in the country in GDP (gross domestic product) growth and fourth in the country in employment growth,” University of South Carolina economist Joseph Von Nessen said in a Sept. 8 interview. “So by most major metrics, we’re right at the top.”
But, he added, “You have to invest in, and modernize, the infrastructure grid in all its forms to keep up and ensure the state remains competitive.”
Last month, Von Nessen and his colleagues at the university’s Darla Moore School of Business released the second annual report on the economic impact of infrastructure in the state, sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies of S.C.
The bottom line? S.C. sees $1.70 in economic growth for every $1 it invests in infrastructure.
Based on the infrastructure investments currently underway, Von Nessen said, that translates into 38,000 temporary jobs per year during the build-out, and 140,000 additional permanent jobs as a result of the higher economic growth they allow.
“Depending on who you talk to, 140,000 may not sound like a lot,” Von Nessen said. “But that’s actually 5% of the total employment base in South Carolina, so it’s a significant amount of job creation coming from infrastructure investments.”
What’s more, Von Nessen noted, the study found that “all types of infrastructure matter” when you look at the state as a whole.
“What we see is that 13 counties out of 46 have received 75% of the population growth, so they need investments in things like transportation,” he said. “But in rural communities, the challenge is often broadband, which is needed to help ensure there’s access to opportunity across South Carolina.”
He added, “The state’s infrastructure is only as strong as its weakest link.”
Increasingly, South Carolina voters are feeling those weak links as pain-points in their everyday lives — longer commutes, overstressed utilities, resource-constrained schools.
And to all appearances, their eyes aren’t glazed over at all.
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