Gov. Mark Sanford does not support extending the proposed Interstate 73 through Georgetown County to Interstate 26 near Charleston, but the district highway commissioner said discussion of that route will continue.

Bob Harrell of Charleston - commissioner for the 1st Congressional District, which includes Horry County and half of Georgetown County - said in July the loop is under consideration because it was requested by people who live in Georgetown and Berkeley counties.

Disapproval by the governor of a federal road route could result in changing it.

"There are people who are asking about this," Harrell said. "The governor may not be aware that there are members of the public who are very much interested in this."

Sanford was the 1st District member of Congress when public hearings on the proposed I-73 route were held. At that time, it was planned as a Detroit-to-Charleston road.

Many landowners in Charleston and Georgetown counties opposed the plan to route the road through Francis Marion National Forest or through farmlands and historic properties in both counties.

Sanford changed the road's official route designation to end at Myrtle Beach, with a spur extending to Georgetown.

"The governor's position is the same as it was during his term in Congress when he had the law changed," said Will Folks, Sanford's spokesman.

Federal policy requires interstates to end either at another interstate or a seaport, which is why the spur to Georgetown was included.

Georgetown County leaders support the addition because it will aid economic development, County Council Chairman Sel Hemingway has said.

People in Berkeley County want the extension for the same reasons, Harrell said.

But Horry County tourism interests also should favor the extension, he said.

"I also think it would be in the interest of the people of the Grand Strand to get the people from Atlanta there."

Travelers from Atlanta could take I-20 to I-26, then I-73 to Myrtle Beach. People from other areas to the south could connect from I-95 to I-26 and then to I-73, Harrell said.

But the proposal is currently at no more than the discussion stage.

The long-sought interstate highway connection for Horry County got $3 million in planning money in this year's federal budget, inserted by Rep. Henry Brown, R-Hanahan.