If area residents want federal money for the proposed Interstate 73, they need to act quickly to get a route for it approved, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said Thursday.

Graham, a Republican from Seneca, spoke at the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. He is touring the state while the Senate is on a break.

"If we do not designate the route sooner rather than later, we could lose this road to North Carolina," Graham said.

He said the interstate, which is to run from near Detroit to Myrtle Beach, combined with an international airport and an international trade center, are important to the economy of the whole state, not just the region.

The three together "can transform this economy in a way that we never dreamed of 10 years ago," Graham said. "The sky is the limit in this part of South Carolina."

He noted the changeover, effective Thursday, of Myrtle Beach International Airport to independent status under the Transportation Security Administration.

The airport must expand to meet demand as well as create more demand, Graham said.

"Literally, if we build it, they will come," he said.

As for the international trade center, Graham said he has asked for $7 million for it. He doesn't think he will get that much, but federal funds for the project "will be a seal of approval on this project that will attract other investors."

Graham said he thinks the federal government will pay most of the costs of the studies for I-73 but can't pay most of the construction costs.

Tolls might not be popular, but they probably are the only way the road can be built, Graham said.

The state will have to share in the costs, and it needs to look at raising the gasoline tax to do it, he said.

"Look in your own back yard for funding sources," he said.

The studies will take three years. If the route is ready to go when they are finished, the state can start laying pavement.

"I want this to happen in my political lifetime," Graham said.

Chamber President Brad Dean said it was good to hear Graham reiterate his support for local projects. "What I thought was very interesting was Senator Graham's call today that it's time to designate the route," he said.

Interstate backers have been in a holding pattern waiting to see how the road is treated in the new highway funding bill, Dean said.

Graham said he voted against the bill because it uses general funds and should stick to gas tax revenues. A compromise version of the bill still is being considered.

Shep Guyton, chamber board chairman, said the I-73 toll is "a hard message," but probably a correct one, and that Graham was "right about the gas tax."