I-73 is not the answer to all our prayers

Re “Time for conservation league to make room for I-73” letter by Jim Christian

I read with interest Mr. Christian’s letter regarding I-73, with all the industry, tourist dollars and decreased travel time he feels that the interstate highway will bring to Georgetown County.

I wonder if he has ever seen a map of the proposed route the road will take. For those of you who have also never seen the proposed route, here it is. The interstate will have an interchange just south of Latta and then parallel S.C. 38 and U.S. 501 until it reaches S.C. 22, northwest of Conway. S.C. 22 will then become I-73 into North Myrtle Beach.

Where on this proposed route does I-73 get anywhere close to Georgetown? If tourists want to come to Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Garden City Beach, or the Litchfield Beach beaches, the shortest route will be to drive through Conway, which has always been the major bottleneck to getting in or out of the Grand Strand.

Does Mr. Christian really think that industry will flock to Georgetown County when they see that their trucks will have to drive clear into North Myrtle Beach and then drive south through all of the beach towns, with all of those traffic lights and mostly 30 mph to 45 mph speed limits?

Before jumping on bandwagons, it is wise to find out where the bandwagon is going and how much the fare is going to be.

This story was originally published August 21, 2016 at 4:32 PM with the headline "I-73 is not the answer to all our prayers."