BRUNSWICK COUNTY — The North And South Carolina Departments of Transportation are jointly planning a half-billion-dollar highway project that would streamline traffic between southern Brunswick County and northern Myrtle Beach.
Next week, the departments will host a pair of public hearings on either side of the state line.
Related: Half-billion-dollar North Carolina-South Carolina highway project seeks stakeholder input
The departments have studied the Carolina Bays Parkway Extension since 2006, but in recent years, planning has picked up with the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) allocating right-of-way acquisition funding toward the project.
Carolina Bays Parkway Extension
In 2016, Horry County passed a capital projects sales tax referendum, according to NCDOT, allocating $125 million to the project. Also that year, SCDOT included property acquisitions in its 2017-2022 State Improvement Transportation Plant (STIP), which are set to begin in 2021 or 2022.
North Carolina has not yet funded right-of-way acquisitions on its side of the state line. The project remains unfunded as of the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)’s recently-approved 2020-2029 STIP. However, approximately $4.1 million has already been attributed in North Carolina to fund the project’s current planning and design phase.
Wednesday, the departments released nine route alternatives. Each concept includes tying into existing Highway 17 in Brunswick County and connecting to S.C. 31 in Horry County (view all route alternatives).
All alternatives include widening and enhancements to U.S. 17 between its intersection in Shallotte at N.C. 130 and before Sunset Beach at N.C. 904.
Concepts one and two would create a new highway system that would begin at the intersection of N.C. 904 and U.S. 17 that stretches north and ties back in at Ash Little River and Hickman Roads.
The remaining seven concepts would instead continue widening U.S. 17 to Hickman Road, with various options branching out, while all alternatives tie back into South Carolina’s existing Carolina Bays Parkway Extension at S.C. 31.
Public hearings
A pair of public hearings — the first in Sunset Beach, N.C. and the second in Little River, S.C. — are planned next week.
- Sunset Beach meeting: Dec. 3, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Sea Trail Convention Center
- Little River meeting: Dec. 4, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the VFW Post 10804
Public comments will be accepted via email or by phone through Jan. 10. A detailed project website is available, where members of the public can draw their own suggested lines, provide commentary, and rank alternatives.
A Draft Environmental Impact Statement is expected next winter, with a final statement and route decision anticipated in spring 2022, according to the project’s timeline. A preferred alternative (not the final decision) could be selected by summer 2021.
Send tips and comments to Johanna Ferebee at johanna@localvoicemedia.com
