Road closure in Myrtle Beach has school parents concerned about safety

A section of Fred Nash Boulevard between Farrow Parkway and Emory Road will close Wednesday for three months while construction crews make infrastructure improvements and build a roundabout circle to accommodate increased traffic for a future commercial hub that includes Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market.

The new commercial area will also include a bank, gas station and other retail outlets on both sides of Fred Nash Boulevard near Farrow Parkway, where city workers will be constructing a new stormwater system, water and sewer lines.

The lengthy detour has frustrated some parents whose children attend the Palmetto Academy of Learning and Success on Fred Nash Boulevard. Courtney Fancher, the charter school administrator, says closing the road while school is in session will create unsafe driving conditions by forcing traffic to negotiate onto U.S. 17 Bypass from the Shetland Lane intersection.

“This is an area where huge wrecks have occurred, we’ve had fatalities there this year,” Fancher said. “Directing 200 cars through there twice a day is likely increasing the odds that someone is going to get hurt, badly.”

The city has asked the state transportation department to close the median opening dividing U.S. 17 Bypass at the Shetland Lane intersection to block traffic from making a left turn, but no decision has been made.

Several serious traffic crashes have occurred at the Shetland Lane and U.S. 17 Bypass intersection this year, including two fatalities.

Gary Jones, 57, of Myrtle Beach, was killed Oct. 23 after he attempted to turn south onto the bypass and was struck by a pick-up truck traveling north. Myrtle Beach resident Heidi Grant, 37, was killed in March after she attempted to access the busy highway from Shetland Lane.

Fancher says that Myrtle Beach officials should have considered other alternatives to closing the road this week, such as delaying construction until summer when school is not in session, extending Fred Nash to connect with Coastal Grand mall, or install a temporary red light on the bypass.

Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes says the closure determination is final, and that drivers will have to adjust to the detour traffic patterns recommended by city officials.

Drivers are being urged to avoid the Shetland Lane intersection. Southbound traffic on the bypass should take a U-turn under the back gate bridge, get back on the bypass northbound and then take a right-hand turn onto Shetland Lane. Drivers exiting Shetland Lane should turn right onto northbound U.S. 17 Bypass and proceed to the Harrelson Boulevard interchange to reverse direction, rather than attempting to cross to the median and turn left. Drivers then can use the Harrelson Boulevard interchange to reverse direction and head southbound on U.S. 17, city officials said.

“Sometimes a little inconvenience is going to happen in order for progress to take place,” Rhodes said. “Some people on the Facebook wrote in and said ‘why don’t we wait and do it in the summer?’ You think we don’t have traffic in the summertime?”

“The only people that are really concerned about it are the ones who have kids in school,” Rhodes said. “Other than that, it’s not the end of the world. I am sure they can get to school everyday, it’s just going to be a little more inconvenient for them for a while.”

Of nearly 40 comments posted on the city’s Facebook page, all were critical of the decision to close the road and many objected to the construction while school is in session.

“This is ridiculous! It's hard enough trying to get in and out of there like it is. Shetland is a death trap,” Missy Stevens Moore posted to the city’s Facebook page.

Added Karina O’Connell: “This project should postponed until June AFTER school is out for the summer. What is wrong with this city? What are the city planners thinking?? Are you really so money hungry for retail that you jeopardize the safety of families trying to bring their children to one of the best schools in Myrtle Beach?”

Rhodes said the construction project was approved last year, and was timed to ensure the stores and businesses can open by May. The project is expected to last three months, but Rhodes said extended periods of rainy weather could delay completion.

Audrey Hudson 843-444-1765

@AudreyHudson

This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Road closure in Myrtle Beach has school parents concerned about safety."