Mushy soil at U.S. 17/S.C. 707 bridge causing another delay

Soil is again the culprit that is delaying the final stage of the back gate bridge at U.S. 17 Bypass and S.C. 707.

It now will be well into the summer before the landscaping and final touches around the back gate bridge are complete, Myrtle Beach spokesman Mark Kruea said.

“Work is underway, but it’s likely to be June before you see a final product,” Kruea said. “As I understand it, there’s still some minor soil work underway by the state bridge contractor.”

Contractors had to bring topsoil in to provide something that will actually grow plants. The city of Myrtle Beach is in charge of the landscaping around the new bridge.

This isn’t their first go around with the soil in that area. The sticky, nonabsorbant soil beneath the road that leads to the north- and southbound access of the bridge caused delays in the construction.

For a while, officials waited on a type of soil referred to as gumbo, which is soil that becomes sticky and nonporous when wet. That soil, which is about 60 feet below the surface, took a while to settle.

The $121.7 million project, known as the back gate construction because of its proximity to the old back gate of the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, opened to traffic in October and includes an overpass that eliminated the stoplight at the Farrow Parkway/S.C. 707 intersection and keeps U.S. 17 Bypass traffic moving. It is estimated that about 70,000 vehicles pass through that intersection during peak season.

The project was initially supposed to be completed by August, but was bumped back to October, then November and work continued into January because of wet, cold weather last winter and spring.

The SCDOT continues to meet with officials at Balfour Beatty, the contractor for the job, to determine how many delay days were the fault of the contractor, said Mike Barbee, project manager with SCDOT. The delay will likely result in a rebate from Balfour Beatty Industries.

“We are still working through the issues of liquidated damages while BBI completes the final punch list items,” Barbee said. Barbee said he didn’t yet know whether the county, its RIDE II program, which funded the project, or the State Infrastructure Bank, who helped finance the project, would receive the rebate.

Kruea said there are still several things that need to get done.

“The city’s contractor currently is working on the electrical and lighting systems, which needs to go in before the final landscaping,” Kruea said. “Next in order would be construction of the pedestrian arbor... the irrigation system and finally the landscaping material.”

He said those plans are in DOT’s hands, awaiting final approval.

“Again, more teammates than on a typical project, but it’s coming along,” Kruea said.

This story was originally published April 10, 2015 at 4:40 PM with the headline "Mushy soil at U.S. 17/S.C. 707 bridge causing another delay."