Third Avenue South road work in Myrtle Beach to drag on until spring

Rain and winter storms have turned a two-year road construction project on Third Avenue South into a three-and-a-half-year project that engineers say should end in spring – weather permitting.

Crews began moving utilities underground on Third Avenue South in September 2012. The last phase of the project involved widening the road from two lanes to three lanes with new curbs and gutters from U.S. 501 to Kings Highway. Engineers anticipated having the project complete by November, but construction was stalled by the flooding last month and then recent rains.

“The biggest thing we have left to do is there’s a culvert under Third Avenue and they’re having to extend the culvert because of the widening,” said Anna Levy, resident construction engineer with the S.C. Department of Transportation.

The culvert extension and the installation of water quality structures are underway.

Once the culvert dries, crews can begin asphalt work, she said late last week. “They were prepared to start with some asphalt last week but then it’s rained ever since.”

Levy suspects most of their work will be completed this winter.

“We’re going to get most of it done if it will quit raining,” Levy said, but crews will have to wait until spring to put down the final layer of asphalt, which requires warmer temperatures to set. Crews are restricted from applying the road’s final surface between November and March.

Emily Weaver: 843-444-1722; @TSNEmily

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Third Avenue South road work in Myrtle Beach to drag on until spring."