Carolina Forest Boulevard work won’t begin for more than a year

It will be more than a year before the county will start taking bids to widen the two-lane Carolina Forest Boulevard.

The growing Carolina Forest development and new 1,200-student capacity Ten Oaks Middle School line the road that some residents say is not big enough to carry the traffic. Horry County expects to start bidding out the work in December 2018.

The RIDE III sales tax funds the project that calls for widening 4.9 miles of Carolina Forest Boulevard from two to four lanes between Covington Drive and River oaks Drive, according to the county’s $2.5 million consulting contract with engineering firm Thomas and Hutton.

Turn lanes will be included at intersections, and a traffic study will determine where signal lights will be installed, according to the contract.

The county doesn’t have a schedule of when the road work will begin, said county spokesperson Kelly Brosky.

“What we have been told is that they are not going to be turning a shovel in the ground until 2018,” said Carolina Forest Civic Association President Carol VanSickler. “We’re not happy about it, we’re quite concerned. We were told shovels would start after school finished.”

This story was originally published September 21, 2017 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Carolina Forest Boulevard work won’t begin for more than a year."