COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- The director of South Carolina's transportation department says residents should be paving their own driveways.

Transportation Secretary Robert St. Onge told a House panel Thursday it's unfair for some residents to get a free driveway courtesy of the state budget.

State law requires his agency to install, maintain and remove the entrances of residents' driveways within the public right-of-way of state roads.

St. Onge wants legislators to suspend that law in the coming state budget. He says that's $6 million that could be spent on major roadways.

But legislators say providing residents with adequate access from their property to state roads is a necessary service. The state does not pay for driveway work on private land or leading to commercial property. The service can include culvert work for drainage.

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