Passengers at Myrtle Beach International Airport will encounter two major shifts next month as construction of the new terminal wraps up.

The new entrance to the airport, from the intersection of Harrelson Boulevard and Jetport Road, will open the week of Oct. 14, said Mike Illes, the airport’s construction manager.

This will be the permanent entrance to the new terminal and mark a major change in the way travelers enter and leave the airport, with plenty of signs in the works to guide drivers.

The current entrance road off Harrelson Boulevard at S.C. 15 will be closed once the new entrance opens.

“There’s a lot of logistics and there will be a lot of signage explaining the changes,” said Kirk Lovell, the airport’s marketing manager. “It is definitely a change but once everybody gets comfortable with it, it will be a lot better.”

Also in mid-October, passengers will go to a new place to rent a car. The rental car companies will move out of the current terminal overnight Oct. 15 and re-open in a new rental car building outside the terminal Oct. 16.

The first flights are expected to take off from the new terminal in February, with Feb. 19 as the planned “go live” date. Officials say the new terminal must be open by then so it can handle the rush of golfers that are expected to start flying in soon after that opening for the busy spring golf season.

“Our traffic ramps up significantly right after that,” said Mike La Pier, Horry County’s airports director. “It’s important we make that date.”

Contact DAWN BRYANT at 626-0296 or at dbryant@thesunnews.com or follow her at Twitter.com/TSN_dawnbryant.