One of the biggest steps toward getting Interstate 73 built in South Carolina was taken Tuesday when the South Carolina Department of Transportation announced its preferred southern route.

SCDOT and the Federal Highway Administration have been narrowing down a choice of 141 possible routes for the highway's southern section for more than two years.

The southern route unveiled Tuesday runs from Interstate 95 to just west of Latta, then runs south through Temperance Hill. It continues west of Mullins and east of Marion, then picks up S.C. 917 crossing the Little Pee Dee River and running into S.C. 22, the Conway Bypass. It is 60 miles long and uses S.C. 22, which is built to interstate standards, to reduce the amount of new construction on the project.

But the lines on the map are not necessarily set in stone, said SCDOT I-73 Project Director Mitchell Metts. He said public meetings will begin next month to gather more input on the final route.

"We realized that once we made the preferred route public, that the public would demand an opportunity to voice their concerns with the route," he said.

Metts said a final Environmental Impact Study would not be finished until spring 2007. Until then, SCDOT will conduct more field work, take more public comments and conduct more environmental studies.

"We'll continue to improve the route," he said of the process.

But some residents already are voicing their opinions about the route, especially in the Temperance Hill area, which will be bisected by I-73.

"Temperance Hill was unfortunate enough to have two of the possible routes running through it," said Milton Rogers, whose family has land in Temperance Hill that will be split in two by the proposed route.

"There are several multigenerational farms in Temperance Hill," he said. "It's the kind of area where people don't sell out their property, they hand it down from generation to generation."

W.D. "Billy" Atkinson, owner of Atkinson Strawberries and a farmer who lives just south of Mullins, said he thinks SCDOT "has done a wonderful job of avoiding houses, wetlands and churches" and is pleased with the proposed southern I-73 route.

"I can't speak for the Zion area," he said.

"It's coming whether we like it or not ... It's going to be a fact of life," said Charlie Tyndall, who owns about 50 acres in Zion as well as Tyndall Trucking and Tyndall Farming. "I thought it would come this way because of the possibility of the inland port."

Tyndall said the only people who'll benefit from the interstate are those in Horry County. Tyndall's farm will be cut in half by the proposed southern route of the interstate, and he said he thinks he will have to go "10 miles to go around it" to get from one side of his land to the other.

"An interstate is a 24-7, 365-day job. It is noisy and busy," he said.

Once people get within 40 or 50 miles of the beach, Tyndall said, they are not going to stop until they get there. Any anticipated revenue for small stores that could pop up along the route will be minimal, he said.

Mullins Mayor Ken McDonald said he hopes businesses will crop up along the interstate. Mullins has water and sewer available for any business or industry that might want to develop along the interstate.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," he said of the proposed route. "It will benefit the city of Mullins more than any route suggested."

McDonald said he especially looks forward to the economic impact building the interstate will have on the city. He said he hopes some of the money spent on the construction of the interstate can stay in Mullins and in Marion County.

Marion Mayor Bobby Gerald said that no matter where in Marion County the interstate runs, it will have a positive long-term impact beyond the cities of Marion and Mullins.

"It's certainly good for Myrtle Beach and Horry County" and it'll add a hurricane evacuation route, he said.

Gerald said the interstate will have at least three crossovers or exchanges, which will be good for any future industry that needs interstate access. He said he certainly understands the concerns of the farmers whose land will be split by the road, however.

Linda Vaughn of Zion, which is located southeast of Temperance Hill, lives in the old family home where she was born. She said she doesn't want the interstate anywhere near her residence.

"I cannot tell how close it's going to be to me," she said after hearing the announcement.

Vaughn will get an opportunity to see more detailed maps of the proposed route at three public meetings SCDOT will hold in June for residents to see how their property will be affected by I-73. The three hearings will be from 4 to 7 p.m. June 15 at Aynor High School, June 20 at Marion County Technical Education Center and June 22 at Dillon High School.

Public comment also will be received through the summer, with more field work taking place through October.

But it is doubtful the final route will vary much from the one SCDOT unveiled Tuesday.

The study area consisted of 1,500 square miles of Dillon, Marion and Horry counties, and the route was narrowed down after consideration of several factors.

Metts said the preferred southern route for I-73 has the least impact on wetlands, with 384 acres of wetlands involved. He said it also has the lowest impact on farmland, impacting 1,708 acres. And the preferred route has the lowest relative cost and the least impact on cultural resources.

"To lower wetland impact often means more cost," he said. "But in this case, the route with the lowest wetland impact is also the one with the lowest cost."

Tuesday's announcement marks the first big step in getting the interstate built. It also authorizes federal funds to continue to be used for the project.

SCDOT officials said I-73 is the largest public works project ever undertaken by the state.

Still, there are concerns from environmentalists, land owners and business owners along the route.

"It is going through the Heritage Trust property, which is supposed to be protected, and that is a big concern to us," said Bunny Beeson, founder and president of Wildlife Action Inc. based in Mullins.

The property is located off S.C. 917 at the Little Pee Dee River. Beeson said, however, he is satisfied with the amount of public participation SCDOT officials allowed and is happy officials are paying attention to the community's concerns.

Economic development officials, elected leaders and SCDOT have fast-tracked the I-73 project, saying it will bring industry, jobs and tourists to the Pee Dee and Grand Strand.

The main reason for building the highway is to provide an interstate highway route directly to Myrtle Beach to bolster further the explosive growth of tourism there.

"Tourism is the driver of South Carolina's economy," said Bob Lee, of the Federal Highway Administration. "And Myrtle Beach is the engine to the driver."

Political and business leaders in Horry County also have used the threat of hurricanes as another reason to build the highway, saying it is needed as an evacuation route from the coastal areas of South Carolina.

SCDOT is still conducting an environmental study on the northern section of I-73, which will run from I-95 near Latta through Marlboro County and into North Carolina near Rockingham.

Metts said work on the northern section is progressing quickly.

"That project is moving along very well," he said. "We met with North Carolina officials to hammer out where it will end up, and we're moving along."

SCDOT and lawmakers will now begin to focus ways to fund I-73's construction. Legislation to allow tolling on the road has already been passed, but that will only pay for some of the cost, said Florence Sen. Hugh Leatherman.

"We'll be asking the private sector for recommendations on how we can finance the highway," he said. "We've done that previously on other projects, like the Conway Bypass, and it has worked out well."

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