Interim DOT leader Hall gets job full time after flood work

Posted
COLUMBIA (AP) — Gov. Nikki Haley wants to give interim South Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Christy Hall the job permanently. Haley announced her latest cabinet appointment Wednesday, after Hall has spent weeks directing repairs to nearly 600 roads and bridges washed out or damaged in this month's massive floods. Crews have fixed all but about 150 of those roads. Hall is receiving high marks for her work after the flood. But South Carolina's road network was crumbling long before the waters rose. The DOT also still has a board, with seven of eight members picked by the Legislature. That leaves the agency director to balance the sometimes competing wishes of the governor and lawmakers. The Senate must approve Hall's nomination, but several lawmakers have said they support her.