ORANGEBURG (WACH) - Ground is finally broken at the site of the James E. Clyburn Transportation Center on the campus of South Carolina State. The project was given the green light back in 1998.
"Too long. This project has been 12 years in the making. I'm frustrated, I know the Congressman has expressed his frustrations," says State Representative Jerry Govan. The Orangeburg Democrat is a graduate of S.C. State.
Govan blames some of the delays on red tape, and frequent turnover in the university's administration. In addition, a legislative audit committee is curious about what happened to a million bucks earmarked for the center.
"I think it's overkill, I think an independent external audit does the same thing, and to me it's just a waste of taxpayer dollars to have two audits going on and doing essentially the same thing," says Govan.
The center will recruit students from South Carolina State and other colleges in the area who are interested in studying the changing trends in transportation.
S.C State freshman Ashlyn Minor says if the center is going to better the lives of students, then it needs to be built. "If it's going to better someone in their education, then sure."
WACH-FOX contacted South Carolina State President George Cooper for this story, but we were told he was too busy to talk. A spokeswoman for Cooper says he would like to talk to us in the future.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWACH