I-73 stalled: Will Horry County leaders divert its funding to local roads?
With plans to fund and build I-73 stalled in Columbia, some Horry County leaders are eyeing a pot of money they had set aside for the interstate, wanting instead to spend it on local roads.
That pot of money — $4.2 million of the county’s annual $15 million collection from its hospitality fee — was put aside in the county’s budget for a major road project like I-73.
But even with engineering plans complete, environmental permits secured and right-of-way acreage purchased, state lawmakers this year declined to honor a request from Gov. Henry McMaster to jump start I-73 construction with $300 million. The funding, if the legislature had approved it, would have paid for the first interchange and six miles of I-73 off of I-95, near Latta.
To date, state and federal officials have declined to fund I-73 construction, though some state and federal allocations have paid for things like right-of-way acreage and engineering studies.
That’s left some Horry County Council members wondering if they should spend the hospitality fee money on other projects and figure out how pay for their share of I-73 later, when state and federal money becomes available.
“I am certainly in favor of that,” Council member Mark Causey, who represents the Loris area, said. “If we can do some stuff here to help our local roads and help our local people move around I’m all for that.”
In all, the $4.2 million could generate $126 million for road construction or upgrades over the course of a 30-year municipal bond, a common tool governments use to pay for large capital projects.
Council Chairman Johnny Gardner, too, agreed the hospitality fee may be put to better use on a non-I-73 project. That’s notable because Gardner last year instructed fellow council members to split up the hospitality fee money and reserve some for I-73.
“I think it’s great,” he said. “Anything we can do to put money on roads in Horry County, I’m all for it.”
Horry County spending hospitality money is difficult
Re-allocating the funds, though, won’t be simple.
That’s because state law controls what cities and counties can spend hospitality fee money on. In Horry County, hospitality fee money is generated by tourism and state law says the money has to be spent on tourism-related expenses and projects.
That means that if Horry County wanted to spend its annual $4.2 million on local roads, those roads would have to provide “access to tourist destinations” county attorney Arrigo Carotti explained.
Some council members, including Danny Hardee, suggested the hospitality fee funds could pay for some of the needed upgrades on S.C. 90, a once-rural highway that’s seen immense growth in recent years and has become the subject of public outcry and a county task force.
One idea floated by council members in the past would have the hospitality fee money pay for S.C. 90 improvements near a large RV park located along the highway, or the section of the highway between S.C. 22 and North Myrtle Beach as it leads to “tourist destinations.”
S.C. 90’s greatest need, though — raising and widening the highway through the swamps it crosses — may not qualify for hospitality fee dollars.
Another idea, pushed by state Rep. William Bailey, R-Little River, would widen 36 miles of S.C. 9 to four lanes, providing a larger funnel into the North Myrtle Beach area.
Gardner called that project “a tremendous idea” because “that’s doable.”
I-73 proponents urge patience
Despite some council members wanting to spend the county’s I-73 money elsewhere, it’s not clear if a majority of councilors would support the idea. And, Gardner and others said, a vote to re-allocate that money is not imminent.
I-73 supporters, meanwhile, believe it’s best to leave the hospitality fee money alone and wait for state and federal money to become available.
“We can’t use one penny of that on anything that isn’t tourism related so that eliminates a lot of local projects,” Council member Bill Howard, of Myrtle Beach, said. “We cannot even consider (it) because its not the law.”
Council member Tyler Servant, too, from Surfside Beach, said the county’s I-73 money should remain dedicated to the interstate.
But even some I-73 supporters on council are questioning whether or not the county’s is better spent elsewhere. Council member Harold Worley, of North Myrtle Beach, said the county was “at a crossroads.”
“I’m not going to take all of our hospitality money that we need for local roads right here in Horry County and build I-73,” he said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that while state and federal agencies have never funded I-73 construction, some allocations throughout the years have paid for right-of-way acreage, engineering studies and other costs.
This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
