A Review of Competition for the Department of Transportation's Road Paving Contracts
December 2001

FOLLOW-UP (PDF)     REPORT (PDF)     SUMMARY (PDF)

Members of the General Assembly requested that we review the South Carolina Department of Transportation’s (SCDOT) procedures for awarding road paving contracts. We reviewed the level of competition among contractors for SCDOT’s road paving contracts and the department’s internal controls for detecting bid-rigging or other forms of anti-competitive behavior. We found evidence to indicate that the level of competition for some road paving contracts is less than optimal in certain geographic areas of the state. This is not necessarily the result of anti-competitive practices by contractors. However, SCDOT does not conduct a regular analysis of bidding patterns to ensure that the state’s bidding process for road paving and road construction is open and competitive.