Gribblenation

Since the last time the Carolina Bays Parkway was mentioned on this blog, Bob moved north and my family doubled in size (we now have two boys along for our adventures).  In that January 2010 entry, I mentioned how South Carolina State Representative Tracy Edge asked SCDOT to begin studying an extension of the route into North Carolina. Now it's the Summer of 2016 and NCDOT has selected an engineering firm to begin conducting an environmental study of six alternatives that will connect US 17 at Hickman Road to the existing Carolina Bays Parkway (SC 31) at SC Highway 9.  This would be the first step in selecting and eventually building the six lane freeway that is estimated to cost between $202 and 280 million. At this time, there is no overall plan or schedule to build the eventual link. Story Link: Remember the Carolina Bays Parkway extension? It might be back. ---Wilmington Star-News Editors Note: With this post our total entries for 2016 (13) has exceeded the combin...

South Carolina State Representative Tracy Edge will ask SCDOT to begin planning for an environmental study of the alternative to extend the Carolina Bays Parkway northwards into North Carolina. The proposed extension would ultimately become part of Interstate 74. The study would look at the six alternatives proposed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Since 2002, the state has reserved $500,000 per year for the I-74/Carolina Bays Parkway northern extension. The funds come from the SC Department of Commerce. It is estimated that the study would cost about $7 million to complete. Though the study would be an important step in seeing Interstate 74 become a closer reality, funding for construction in either state is currently not on schedule. Story link: North end roads ride on funding ---Myrtle Beach Sun News

"On Monday, the Community Coalition of Little River organized a forum with local politicians to discuss the need to extend the Carolina Bays Parkway north to the state line. The highway currently ends at Route 9, and the fork in the road leads a lot of traffic through the Little River community. Little River residents like Delburt Wise say traffic in the downtown area can be unbearable at times because of the large number of people who get diverted there from Highway 31.... Mike Barbee with the South Carolina Department of Transportation says the department has already conducted a feasibility study in conjunction with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to determine how the extended highway would impact the environment and the people living in the community. Barbee says the long term goal would be to connect Highway 31 with the new Interstate 74, which is already partially funded by the NCDOT. However without any money available to fund the project now, the highway...

On the heels of the opening of the Robert Edge Parkway (North Myrtle Beach Connector), SCDOT and Horry County are just getting started on another major road project, the southern extension of the Carolina Bays Parkway from SC 544 to SC 707. At a public hearing at Socastee High School on September 8 th , Horry County residents were able to see details of the new highway first hand. Some of the features of the new highway include, an improved interchange with SC 544, a terminus interchange at SC 707, improvements to SC 707 from the Parkway to US 17, and a bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway. Construction should begin in the fall of 2010 and it should take three years to complete. Story Links: DOT shows S.C. 31 plans in Myrtle Beach area ---The Myrtle Beach Sun News

The North Myrtle Beach Connector - a four lane parkway from Main St. in North Myrtle Beach running to the Garden Parkway - will officially open to traffic Thursday after a ribbon cutting ceremony. The $85 million project began in 2005. It did run $15 million over budget as a result of increasing material costs. At one time, there was talk of the North Myrtle Beach connector becoming Interstate 174 - when SC 31 is finally connected to the proposed Interstate. Nothing in the article reads that the connector will be a future Interstate let alone any state designation. I'll be in North Myrtle Beach in two weeks, and will be sure to check the new highway out. Story Link: North Myrtle Beach is ready to connect ---Myrtle Beach Sun News

If you travel anywhere in Horry County - whether as a tourist or as a resident - there's going to be a lot of construction going on in 2010. The final piece of the Carolina Bays Parkway - from SC 544 to SC 707 - is scheduled to see construction begin next summer. And at the same time, SC 707 will be widened to four lanes from the Parkway to US 17. Currently, the final phases of design and right-of-way acquisition of the 4.2 mile extension is underway. Construction should begin next summer and completion in 2013. Story w/video: Carolina Bays Parkway extension moves forward ---WMBF-TV

Earlier in the month, I blogged about the possibility of part of the final segment of the Carolina Bays Parkway being shifted away from a subdivision . Well last week after a public meeting, SCDOT decided to shift the highway and the interchange at its terminus at SC 707 1,500 hundred feet to the north. The change will spare numerous homes at The Meadows subdivision along with a few businesses. The move will actually trim $5 million in right-of-way purchases from the cost of the $235 million project. In addition to the cost savings with the new routing, SCDOT is looking at changing the design of the Parkway's bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway and possibly having Enterprise Road cross over the highway than underneath it. Despite the possible $20 million in savings, SCDOT is holding firm to the $235 million project cost estimate because of inflation and the rising costs of materials. The 4.2 mile extension of the Carolina Bays Parkway, signed as SC 31, should see construction ...

It is quite possible that there may be a slightly different path to the final four miles of the Carolina Bays Parkway in Myrtle Beach. Why? Well a few reasons...First, federal law requires an updated environmental impact study because the initial study was done before the first segments of the highway were completed in 2002. And since it has been over three years since the completion, they have to go through it again. But the most likely reason for a shift in the soon to be constructed highway's routing is 15 lots within the 68 lot 'The Meadows' subdivision. SCDOT is actively trying to avoid having the highway impact the 15 lots. Plus, the developer is currently withholding the 15 lots from the market and also informing buyers throughout the subdivision that the highway will be built nearby. Last year, a 248 lot subdivision called Osprey Plantation was halted to make way for the new highway. SCDOT is in the process of purchasing the land within the former development. ...

Construction for the extension of the SC 31 - The Carolina Bays Parkway - may get a funding boost Wednesday when the State Infrastructure Bank seeks the approval of the South Carolina Joint Bond Review Committee. If the $85 million grant is approved - the Parkway extension project will have $235 million of the estimated $331 million cost covered. Horry County is filling in some of the funding gap from a recently approved sales tax for highway construction. The Bond Review Committee is not the final step in the grant approval process. In addition the grant needs to receive a green light from the Budget and Control Board. The Parkway extension project will lengthen SC 31 4.2 miles from SC 544 to SC 707. It also includes the widening of SC 707 to four lanes to US 17. Currently, the project is in the right-of-way acquisition phase. Story: Myrtle Beach Sun News

A new interchange along the Carolina Bays Parkway (SC 31) that is being built with private funds may open by year's end. The interchange which is about one mile south of the Parkway's giant intersection with SC 22 (Conway Bypass) is being funded by a group of four property owners that call themselves the 'Parkway Group'. Although the cost of the interchange project has not been released, the group has invested $3 million in private money to preserve 305 acres of Tiger Bay which sits within the Lewis Ocean Bays Heritage Preserve, an environmentally sensitive area that borders much of the Parkway. Local property owners had been lobbying for an interchange with the Carolina Bays Parkway since 2001 seeing that their area is close to two (SC 22 and SC 31) new major highways but with no direct access. The interchange is being built to state standards and once completed the interchange and access roads will be absorbed into the state highway system. Currently, the interchange...

Earlier this month, the Horry County (SC) Council unanimously voted to permanently halt development along the proposed path of the Carolina Bays Parkway (SC 31). The ban will affect 177 lots in the Osprey subdivision in Socastee. The County will be required to pay fair market value for the land. When the Carolina Bays Parkway was originally proposed and later built, the section through Socastee from SC 544 to SC 707 was not completely funded. As a result, the land was not purchased by the county and the land was purchased for real estate development. The Osprey development is the only residential area either built or proposed in the highway's path. After Horry County residents passed a one cent transportation sales tax last fall, the county now has the funds to complete the parkway. The County will also receive funds for the highway from South Carolina's Infrastructure Bank. Some Osprey property owners claim that they were unaware that the land they owned was in the highway...

The SC Infrastructure bank was very creative in how it awarded $174 million of the possible $300 million in road funds yesterday. As a result, most of the requested projects will receive some funding from the infrastructure bank. First, the bank loaned $93 million to the South Carolina DOT to widen a deadly stretch of US 17. The loan is to cover the contracts for widening 5.5 miles of a 22 mile stretch of the deadly highway. The state has until September 1st to award the construction contracts. Since this is a loan, the $93 million does not go against the $300 million total. Note: The loan can extend up to $221 million. Second, Horry County will receive $40 million of the requested $150 million towards right-of-way acquisition for the final phase of the Carolina Bays Parkway. (SC 707 to SC 544) The awarding of the $40 million is contingent on Horry County residents approving a once cent sales taxes for highway construction this fall. Third, $99 million was awarded to Charlesto...

The committee that is deciding on which application or applications will receive the $300 million in funding from the South Carolina Infrastructure Bank visited Myrtle Beach last week to see the desired project. See article . Horry County Officials applied for $150 million in early January to extend the Carolina Bays Parkway (SC 31) another 1.5 miles to SC 707 then to widen SC 707 to five lanes to the US 17 Bypass. This will essentially complete the Carolina Bays Parkway. The parkway was origianlly planned to curl back towards US 17, but the county never bought the land and developers have already built over the proposed right of way. A few new details also came out in the article. The state only owns 75 feet of right of way along SC 707 and would need 110 feet. A number of homes may possibly have to be taken for this project. The board was very inquisitive including asking about mass transit. Finally, the chairman of the bank board, Don Leonard, is a business owner from Myrtle Beach...

First a belated Happy New Year to All! The past month has been busy with travel, work and of course the holidays so I apologize for not posting to my blog until now. I've just recently completed an update to South Carolina Highways . The update is relatively small but a lot of good news and information has come up since July of last year. Interstate 73: A lot of goodies here. The $81 million allotment of funds in the SAFETEA-LU Act has really given new momentum to I-73 in South Carolina. Basically the $81 million will cover all environmental studies and give the state a head start on right-of -way acquisition. It's a major step towards the completion of an estimated $2 BILLION route. Since the $81 million was announced, the state has gained another $4 million from Congress. All good news right? Well as Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast, my friend." In November, both of the State's senators, Graham and DeMint, offered in a bill to cut the $81 million in I-73 fundi...