Support I-73 to help Americans

To South Carolina Department of Transportation Commissioner Sarah Nuckles:

It was indeed a pleasure speaking with you by phone recently and having the opportunity to speak with your fellow commission members on Dec. 1. I am most appreciative of our cordial and frank phone discussion concerning the need for the I-73 road project.

After carefully listening to your argument, I would urge you and other commissioners to please consider the plight of the working poor and unemployed who reside on the corridor of shame. While I-73 may not be a silver bullet, it represents our best chance to build a corridor of opportunities to change the economics and lives of residents in our four-county area.

The goal of our grass-roots coalition visit to the state capital was to cut through the red tape, fast-track funding and foster consensus among commission members to support I-73. Efforts are geared to promote growth for some 29,000 jobs along the proposed section of the I-73 corridor, now shamed with high unemployment. While high unemployment continues to plague many South Carolinians along our corridor, African-American males’ suffer disproportionately, with 35 percent to 40 percent unemployment.

The proposed link will impact Dillon, Marion, Marlboro and Horry counties. The Pee Dee region includes two of the three counties with the highest unemployment rate in the entire state of South Carolina. Interstate 73 has the ability to not only change the economy of South Carolina, but help change the lives of the people who live here. Any decision to stall the construction of I-73 can only further add to the misery index, impacting thousands of American families.

Research confirms that continuous high levels of unemployment turn our young with broken lives towards negative actions and behaviors, often leading to illegal activities, violence and crime. Such actions contribute to the induction of our young into our criminal justice system, which provides little or no return on our investment. Let’s all work together to make I-73, a reality and allow our most vulnerable individuals, who live in our impoverished counties, a chance to become a part of the American dream and not our American nightmare.

Christmas is a time for sharing and reflecting on the blessing of God’s gift to mankind and to have compassion for those less fortunate. Let’s give a boost to job creation and economic development by supporting I-73. Also I encourage you to join with us in January as we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Day. Dr. King firmly believed in economic justice and job opportunities for all God’s children.

The writer lives in Myrtle Beach.