Posted on Sat, May. 20, 2006

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Proposed I-73 route to be unveiled

Fine-tuning to limit disruption

By Zane Wilson

The Sun News

COLUMBIA - Residents in the possible path of Interstate 73 will soon get the answer they have sought for 15 months.

The proposed route for the southern leg of I-73 will be revealed at 11 a.m. May 30 at the capital city's convention center.

For those who can't make the trip, the information will be posted on the Internet at the same time. A few days after, there will be public meetings in the affected area, which includes Horry, Marion and Dillon counties.

The announcement comes 15 months after the state Department of Transportation presented its first array of possible paths for the 35-mile leg between I-95 and S.C. 22.

The event also comes three days before South Carolina's event that is part of the nationwide 50th anniversary celebration for the interstate highway system.

"We're naturally excited about the pending announcement," said Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce President Brad Dean. "It's been a long time coming."

The chamber has been a major backer of the highway since it was designated in 1991, and in the years before that in working for other possibilities such as a connection to Interstate 20 or Interstate 95.

Myrtle Beach is the largest tourism destination in the country without an interstate highway connection.

"I am thrilled that we are at this juncture," said state Rep. Alan Clemmons, who is president of the S.C. I-73 Association. "We keep moving forward with every step."

The DOT is holding the event in the convention center because the agency does not have a room big enough for the number of people expected, agency Director Betty Mabry said.

She said she expects at least 200 people to attend.

"I suspect that there will be a significant turnout," Clemmons said.

Dean said it is "rather fitting" that the announcement comes at the time the nation is celebrating its interstate highway system.

The event also means it is time to begin serious planning on how to pay for the road, Dean said. He said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham recently proposed an I-73 financing summit and the chamber is aiming to pull that together for the fall so that plans can be in place in time for the next legislative session.

The road will have a toll on its 90-mile length in South Carolina, but that will not be enough to build it and neither the state nor federal government has formally committed the expected $2 billion cost.

Highway planners are quick to say that even the final proposed route isn't final. The line on the map is half a mile wide, leaving room for further refinement.

The public meetings will seek comment on ways the path can be tweaked to avoid as many houses, churches, cemeteries and anything else than can be avoided, the DOT said.

Planning for the I-73 path from I-95 northwest to Rockingham, N.C., is under way and the first proposals for that route are expected to be presented in July.