COLUMBIA – Complementing the state's tourism and license tag theme, "South Carolina, Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places," the state Department of Transportation recently celebrated the first year of its new landscaping theme, "Colorful Spaces." The Colorful Spaces program is designed to improve the appearance of roadways throughout the entire state by the planting of colorful vegetation along highways.
To get the project started this spring, Executive Director Elizabeth Mabry and State Highway Engineer Don Freeman allocated $1,000 to each maintenance unit in the state. This money was designated for the purchase of plant material to be used at strategic locations along primary routes in each of the state's 46 counties.
SCDOT employees, including trades workers, maintenance foremen, administrative specialists, and shop and construction employees, were invited to join the effort. They were asked to be creative in landscape designs to plant flowering annuals, perennials and shrubs that provide color, to make use of native plants, to provide adequate site preparation and to have a sound maintenance plan. Employees were also encouraged to partner with the local community and to seek expert advice in their highway enhancement efforts.
The SCDOT challenged employees to go beyond the limits of the $1,000 allocation by developing partnerships to help increase the size of the sites and the amount of plant material. Employees in 41 of the state’s 46 counties met the challenge. Approximately 550 employees volunteered to plant Colorful Spaces across South Carolina, planting one site in each county.
At an awards ceremony, held Dec. 3, 1999, for participants in the program, Mabry announced that each county will get $1,500 in this fiscal year to apply toward the landscaping effort.
The Colorful Spaces program is among several SCDOT programs underway to enhance the appearance of South Carolina highways. Mabry established an Advisory Committee, comprised of members from around the state, to assist the agency with highway landscape beautification.