In South Carolina, the Charleston County Council voted to approve the ballot language for the 2026 transportation sales tax (TST) program ordinance after its third and final reading of the language at its most recent meeting. Now, the measure is set to be placed before voters on November 3, 2026.

If approved by voters, the measure would continue the existing 2004 half-cent TST when the program completes collections, which is projected to occur in 2027. The 2026 program is expected to generate approximately $4.25 billion over 25 years.

The final program approved by county council includes:

• $2.7 billion, or 63.6%, to roadway infrastructure.
• $858 million, or 20.2%, to public transit.
• $690 million, or 16.2%, to the greenbelt program.

These figures have changed some since its initial introduction in Feburary—namely, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure were folded into the roadway infrastructure category instead of retaining their own separate title.

Following second reading, the council made final adjustments to the proposed project list based on requests from municipalities and their constituents. Those changes include:

• Within the roadway infrastructure category, add $17 million for Palmetto Commerce Interchange noise wall, remove $12 million for Ladson Road at Miles Jamison Road and remove $5 million for RR Overpass Preliminary Engineering – Azalea / Stromboli and Noisette / Virgina Avenue.
• Within the public transit category, reduce the Downtown Route Study by $2 million.
• Within the bike and pedestrian category (Roadway Infrastructure), add $2 million for Huger Street Bike/Pedestrian Improvements.

Additionally, the council voted to include the following sentence to the updated ballot language: “All featured projects, intersection projects, pavement management projects and all other projects shall consider the inclusion of bicycle, pedestrian and public transit access in the design process, as contextually appropriate.”

These finalized figures and project distributions come after more than 80 public meetings and presentations, including three readings by the council designed to garner feedback and finetune the new proposal.

Residents are encouraged to review the final TST program, project information and additional educational materials on the county’s transportation website.