South Carolina transportation officials say they now are caught up on their bills, after a cash crunch that delayed payments to vendors and led the state to borrow road money from the federal government. But politically and financially, the fallout continues.
The state took a $52 million advance from the Federal Highway Administration by collecting a whole year’s worth of payments. South Carolina needed the money after it fell behind in paying its road bills.
The administration of Governor Nikki Haley, a Republican, turned to Washington rather than seek out a private line of credit. It was an unusual move for a governor who has spurned federal help before, choosing, for example, to forgo federal money to roll out a new health insurance exchange and turning away $144 million to fund schools.
(More on South Carolina's federal road bailout . . . )
