Commentary by Warner M. MontgomeryWarner@TheColumbiaStar.com

There's an old African saying, "Our roads have five layers. The first layer goes to the president, second to the governor, third to the mayor, fourth to the chief, and only the fifth to the road." In SC, it's not much different.

The recent audit of the SC Department of Transportation has revealed that layers of highway appropriations have been stripped off before the road is built. Highway commissioners, consultants, legislators, and Executive Director Elizabeth Mabry apparently took their share before the public funds were put into road building and maintenance. Secrecy, favoritism, nepotism, and lack of accountability have been rampant at the Highway Department for years. The result? Our roads and bridges have deteriorated while the Legislature fiddled.

It is time to restructure the Highway Department completely, bring it under the governor's control, and make it accountable for the way it spends public money. Our once- excellent roadways have become substandard over the past 20 years under the current Highway Department setup. We deserve roads with solid layers of graded soil, gravel, cement, asphalt, and signage. We pay at the pump for the privilege to drive on excellent highways.