Why new lights will brighten up Myrtle Beach’s downtown Ocean Blvd. all year long

Work is underway to beautify and brighten up Ocean Boulevard in downtown Myrtle Beach year-round with string lights.

To complete the installation, portions of Ocean Boulevard from Ninth Avenue North to 14th Avenue South are temporarily closing for work from midnight to 8 a.m. through June 19. The city is posting detour signs along active work zones each night during the late-night installation.

The finished concept will feature string lights hung along poles on Ocean Boulevard in time for Father’s Day weekend and peak-tourist times like the Fourth of July.

“The lights going up this week are the result of months of genuine partnership — with the City, with Ocean Boulevard merchants, and with the residents who showed up to our community input meetings and told us what they needed,” Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance (MBDA) CEO and President Jason Greene said. “The merchants asked for lighting first. We heard them. And now it’s happening.”

The new lights are part of the MBDA multi-year Ocean Boulevard revitalization initiative to improve public safety and create a more welcoming environment in the downtown area. Myrtle Beach City Council approved the project, which is funded through the city’s capital budget.