Crash data: How dangerous are Myrtle Beach’s Mr. Joe White Avenue and U.S. 501?
State transportation officials are pitching major improvements to three Myrtle Beach traffic corridors that rank among South Carolina’s most dangerous.
The work on Mr. Joe White Ave., 21st Ave and at two intersections along U.S. 501 — all expected to all be concluded some time in 2024 — is projected to dramatically cut down on crashes while giving cyclists and pedestrians safer passage as they traverse through the city’s heart.
Cost estimates for the projects weren’t immediately known, but they’ll be covered through the state Department of Transportation’s share of federal aid.
Between 2013 and 2020, more than 500 crashes were recorded from Mr. Joe White Avenue at U.S. 17 to U.S. 17 Business, which feeds into North Ocean Boulevard, while 21st Avenue from the same location saw 449.
Pedestrians and cyclists were involved in 23 and 20 of those wrecks respectively, while a newly released report by personal injury firm Dolman Law suggests the improvements are timely, as South Carolina ranked as the fifth most hazardous state for cyclists.
The firm analyzed 10 years of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data and found Carolina had 178 bicyclist fatalities between 2010 and 2019.
“That’s why we’re here today,” said Bret Gillis, a traffic engineer working with the S.C. Department of Transportation. “We use data to identify what corridors, what intersections across the state are most in need of safety improvements.”
Along both Mr. Joe White and 21st avenues, plans call for higher visibility crosswalks, longer pedestrian intervals at crosswalks, bike lane signals and other new pavement markings.
“I think the people that live in the neighborhoods near Mr. Joe White Avenue will be very happy about these crosswalks, and they’re needed,” Mayor Brenda Bethune said.
State transportation planners are also focusing on two intersections along U.S. 501, at Cannon Road and 3rd Avenue South, where more than 100 crashes combined have occurred since 2014.
Officials are hopeful that creating a “reduced conflict intersection” on Cannon Road while installing a southbound U-turn lane on 3rd Avenue would make each thoroughfare much safer, reducing crash potentials by 75 and 17 percent.
Charleston-based traffic engineer Rick Reiff said the re-imagined Cannon Road intersection would nearly half the areas where vehicles conflict, from 32 currently to 18.
Construction is expected to start in mid-2023 and take up to eight months, officials said.
This story was originally published May 26, 2022 at 5:00 AM.