S.C. 31's winding path hits new turn in Myrtle Beach area

Clearing for the path of the extension of S.C. 31 is moving along, but permit problems could keep drivers off the new road for a few more years.

Environmental questions over extending the road 4.2 miles from its existing end point at S.C. 544 farther south to S.C. 707 could hold up the project a number of months beyond what the state Department of Transportation and Horry County officials had hoped.

The permit issue arose because the road's existing permit had to be altered. When S.C. 31, also known as Carolina Bays Parkway, received its original permits in 1998, the road was designed to end farther east at U.S. 17 Bypass just north of Holmestown Road.

But that version of the project was delayed so long that property owners in the planned path of the road demanded that the county either pay for their land or allow development to proceed. The county could not afford to buy the land, and five years ago the route was changed to end at S.C. 707, which will be expanded to five lanes from Enterprise Road south to U.S. 17 Bypass at Murrells Inlet.

Although the DOT's application says the revised project affects 43 fewer acres of wetland, several environmental agencies and groups have raised questions about the plans.

The project proposes to preserve 70 acres of wetland along the corridor, instead of the original 83, but it also seeks to permanently fill 15.3 acres of wetland, clear almost another acre, fill 409 feet of a stream and place rock along 76 feet of a stream.

The state Department of Natural Resources and Coastal Conservation League are among the organizations that are questioning some of the plans.

The DOT needs to evaluate the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of the change in the permit, said Nancy Cave, director of the North Coast office of the league.

"Changing the terminus gives proponents of SELL [the proposed Southern Evacuation Lifeline] further reasons to build a bridge across the Waccamaw and the impact of this needs to be considered in a supplemental environmental impact statement," Cave said.

SELL is the proposed evacuation route from the Surfside Beach area to the western part of the county, which the league has long opposed as an unnecessary destruction of natural areas.

The project will also have to obtain a bridge permit from the U.S. Coast Guard, which can take months, especially if there are objections from residents or other agencies.

"We have regular meetings with the agencies to make sure they are getting what they need and our hope is that this will expedite the permit review and approval process," said Mike Barbee, DOT's project manager for the road extension.

Meanwhile, DOT continues to buy rights of way for S.C. 31 from Peachtree Road south, and for the widening of S.C. 707. The purchases are expected to be finished this fall. The right of way from S.C. 544 to Peachtree Road was obtained when the extension from U.S. 501 to S.C. 544 was built.

DOT aimed to take bids on the project this fall, but now it looks like it will take six to nine months longer before bids will be taken on the S.C. 31 portion, Barbee said.

That means contracts could be awarded in the spring, and construction will take 30 to 36 months, he said.

Even though it seems to be taking a long time, the project is still on the schedule set three years ago, said Steve Gosnell, Horry County's assistant county administrator.

Many people "felt like the projects were behind schedule when they really weren't," Gosnell said. But the timing does point to how long such projects can take.

The funding was promised by the state infrastructure bank and to be matched with county money collected through the 1-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2006.

The last estimate for the cost of the project was $331 million.